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Updated: Jan 5, 2026
Generation of Heterogeneous Drug Gradients Across Cancer Populations on a Microfluidic Evolution Accelerator for Real-Time Observation
Published on: September 19, 2019
Microfluidics for personalized drug screening of cancer
Nishanth Venugopal Menon1, Su Bin Lim2, Chwee Teck Lim3
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Abstract:
Resistance to targeted therapies is a major clinical challenge in cancer treatment. Despite technological advances, robust biomarkers or platforms predictive of treatment response are lacking owing to the inherent nature of complex genomic landscape of carcinoma. Nevertheless, recent efforts centred on performing direct drug screening on patient-derived cells through their ex vivo expansion and maintenance have enabled personalized stratification of treatment modalities. Microfluidics is one such technology that allows high-throughput drug screening through parallelization and automation using small-volume sample. In this review, we present recent microfluidic platforms that have been successfully applied for the maintenance and expansion of patient-derived tumor cells spanning diverse cancer types and sources (solid tumors or liquid biopsies (circulating tumor cells)) for personalized drug screening applications.
Insights
Direct drug screening on patient-derived cells using microfluidics enables personalized cancer treatment. This approach overcomes challenges in predicting treatment response for complex carcinomas, improving patient outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Biotechnology
- Microfluidics
Background:
- Resistance to targeted cancer therapies is a significant clinical hurdle.
- Lack of predictive biomarkers for treatment response is due to complex genomic landscapes in carcinomas.
- Personalized medicine strategies require effective methods for patient-derived cell analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review microfluidic platforms for ex vivo expansion and maintenance of patient-derived tumor cells.
- To highlight the application of these platforms in personalized drug screening.
- To address the need for robust predictive tools in cancer therapy.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent literature on microfluidic platforms for cancer research.
- Focus on technologies enabling high-throughput drug screening.
- Discussion of methods for ex vivo culture of diverse patient-derived tumor cells (solid tumors and liquid biopsies).
Main Results:
- Microfluidic platforms facilitate the maintenance and expansion of patient-derived tumor cells.
- These platforms enable personalized drug screening through parallelization and automation.
- Successful application across various cancer types and sample sources (solid tumors, circulating tumor cells) has been demonstrated.
Conclusions:
- Microfluidics offers a promising technological solution for personalized cancer drug screening.
- Ex vivo expansion of patient-derived cells on microfluidic devices aids in treatment stratification.
- Advancements in microfluidic technology are crucial for overcoming resistance to targeted therapies.
