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A Microfluidic Chip for the Versatile Chemical Analysis of Single Cells
Published on: October 15, 2013
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Label-free isolation of a prostate cancer cell among blood cells and the single-cell measurement of drug accumulation
A Khamenehfar1, T V Beischlag2, P J Russell3
1Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University , Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada.
Biomicrofluidics
|November 24, 2015
Summary
This study presents a microfluidic chip for isolating rare circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood. The chip enables rapid isolation and drug response measurements, aiding cancer chemotherapy decisions.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Biomedical Engineering
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are rare but informative biomarkers in cancer patients.
- Isolating CTCs from blood is challenging due to their low abundance.
- CTCs often exhibit multidrug resistance (MDR), complicating chemotherapy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate an integrated microfluidic chip (CTC chip) for efficient CTC isolation.
- To assess the impact of MDR inhibitors on chemotherapeutic drug accumulation in single CTCs.
- To establish a potential liquid biopsy assay for predicting patient drug responses.
Main Methods:
- Design and fabrication of an integrated microfluidic CTC chip.
- Label-free isolation of human prostate cancer cells from mouse blood based on cell size.
- Measurement of chemotherapeutic drug accumulation in isolated single tumor cells.
- Evaluation of MDR inhibitors' effects on drug accumulation.
Main Results:
- The CTC chip successfully isolated tumor cells from blood based on size differences.
- The chip allows for fast cell isolation and subsequent multiple single-cell measurements.
- The study demonstrated the ability to measure drug accumulation and the effect of MDR inhibitors.
Conclusions:
- The developed CTC chip offers a promising tool for rare cell isolation from biological fluids.
- This technology facilitates single-cell analysis for assessing drug sensitivity in cancer patients.
- The CTC chip assay holds potential for personalized medicine through liquid biopsy.
