Biological Living Cell in-Flow Detection Based on Microfluidic Chip and Compact Signal Processing Circuit

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Microfluidics
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Accurate detection and counting of circulating tumor cells are crucial for early disease diagnosis and treatment monitoring.
• Existing methods for cell enumeration in microfluidic systems can be complex or lack sensitivity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a biochip system for real-time detection and enumeration of human lung carcinoma cells in microfluidic channels.
• To demonstrate the system's capability for sensitive and portable cell counting.

Main Methods:

• A microfluidic biochip with integrated impedance sensing electrodes was designed.
• A compact electronic module, including instrumentation and lock-in amplifiers, was developed to measure impedance changes.
• Experiments were conducted using A549 lung carcinoma cells flowing through the microfluidic channel.

Main Results:

• The system detected the passage of single A549 cells, generating significant impedance spikes (up to 180 mV) above the background signal.
• The proposed biochip system demonstrated high sensitivity in detecting and counting cells in continuous flow.

Conclusions:

• The developed biochip system offers a simple-to-operate, inexpensive, and portable solution for detecting and enumerating lung carcinoma cells.
• The high sensitivity and portability make this system suitable for developing point-of-care diagnostic applications.