Microfabrication of Micropore Array for Cell Separation and Cell Assay

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Materials Science
• Microfluidics

Background:

• Micropore arrays are crucial for isolating rare cells, like tumor cells, and conducting single-cell assays.
• High sample throughput is essential for clinical applications, but current micropore arrays have low throughput due to low porosity.
• A robust microfabrication process for high-porosity micropore arrays is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and compare four microfabrication processes for preparing micropore arrays.
• To identify an optimized strategy for producing large-area, high-porosity micropore arrays with size controllability.

Main Methods:

• Investigated four distinct microfabrication processes for micropore array preparation.
• Utilized a silicon micropillar array as a template for Parylene-C molding.
• Evaluated porosity, throughput, and size controllability of fabricated arrays.

Main Results:

• The Parylene-C molding technique using a silicon micropillar template proved to be the optimal strategy.
• This method successfully produced large-area, high-porosity micropore arrays with excellent size control.
• The Parylene-C technique is compatible with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) processes and scalable for manufacturing.

Conclusions:

• The Parylene-C molding technique offers a robust and scalable solution for fabricating high-porosity micropore arrays.
• These arrays show significant promise for rare tumor cell separation and cell assays in liquid biopsy.
• This advancement supports applications in cancer precision medicine.