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Updated: Feb 27, 2026
Clinical Microfluidic Chip Platform for the Isolation of Versatile Circulating Tumor Cells
Published on: October 13, 2023
Isolation, Detection, and Antigen-Based Profiling of Circulating Tumor Cells Using a Size-Dictated Immunocapture Chip
Metages Gashaw Ahmed1, Mahlet Fasil Abate1, Yanling Song1
1MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
Abstract:
Even though the diagnostic and prognostic value of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) has been demonstrated, their clinical utility and widespread adoption have been limited. Herein, we describe a new device, size-dictated immunocapture chip (SDI-Chip), for efficient, sensitive, and spatially resolved capture and detection of CTCs. SDI-Chip enables selective, frequent, and extended interaction of CTCs with hydrodynamically optimized immunocoated micropillar surfaces. CTCs with different antigen expression levels can be efficiently captured and spatially resolved around the micropillars. Capture efficiency greater than 92 % with a purity of 82 % was achieved with blood samples. CTCs were detected in non-metastasis colorectal (CRC) patients, while none was detected from healthy volunteers. We believe that SDI-Chip will facilitate the transition of tumor diagnosis from anatomical pathology to molecular pathology in localized CRC patients.
