Single-Cell Phenotypic Profiling of CTCs in Whole Blood Using an Integrated Microfluidic Device

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Oncology
• Microfluidics

Background:

• Single-cell phenotypic profiling of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) provides critical tumor biology insights.
• Current methods for CTC enrichment, sorting, enumeration, and single-cell characterization face significant challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an integrated microfluidic device (IMD) for automated, high-throughput single-cell phenotypic profiling of CTCs.
• To assess the correlation between CTC phenotypes and clinical tumor stage and treatment response.

Main Methods:

• An integrated microfluidic device (IMD) was engineered for automated CTC sorting and single-cell phenotypic analysis from whole blood.
• The IMD achieved high purity (92 ± 3%) and high-throughput processing (5 mL whole blood/3 h).
• Phenotypic analysis was performed on CTCs from xenograft tumor models and colorectal cancer (CRC) patients.

Main Results:

• The IMD successfully enabled automated CTC sorting and single-cell phenotypic profiling.
• A correlation was established between characterized CTC phenotypes and clinical tumor stage and treatment response.
• The device demonstrated high purity and throughput for CTC analysis.

Conclusions:

• The developed IMD provides a high-throughput, convenient, and rapid strategy for studying individual CTCs.
• This technology facilitates minimally invasive cancer therapy prediction and disease monitoring.
• The IMD shows potential for clinical translation as a liquid biopsy tool.