Classification of large circulating tumor cells isolated with ultra-high throughput microfluidic Vortex technology

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cancer Biology
• Microfluidics

Background:

• Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are vital non-invasive biomarkers for cancer prognosis and treatment.
• Existing CTC isolation methods face limitations in throughput, purity, cell viability, and standardization.
• Defining CTCs objectively remains challenging due to varying isolation techniques and phenotypes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce objective criteria for identifying large CTCs based on cytomorphological features.
• To evaluate the performance of the High Throughput Vortex Chip (Vortex HT) for label-free CTC enrichment.
• To compare the Vortex HT's efficiency and purity against previous methods and the CellSearch assay.

Main Methods:

• Development of objective cytomorphological criteria for CTC identification.
• Application of the High Throughput Vortex Chip (Vortex HT) for label-free, size-based CTC enrichment from stage IV lung and breast cancer patient samples.
• Performance evaluation including capture efficiency, processing speed, purity, and comparison with the CellSearch assay.

Main Results:

• The Vortex HT achieved high capture efficiency (up to 83%) and processing speed (800 μL/min whole blood).
• High purity was obtained with an average background of 28.8±23.6 white blood cells per mL of whole blood.
• The Vortex HT demonstrated improved CTC capture performance (84% positive test rate) compared to previous Vortex designs and the CellSearch assay.

Conclusions:

• The Vortex HT enables rapid, label-free isolation of viable and pure CTC populations.
• Objective cytomorphological criteria facilitate reliable identification of large CTCs.
• This technology advances CTC analysis, potentially uncovering further cancer cell heterogeneity.