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Clinical Microfluidic Chip Platform for the Isolation of Versatile Circulating Tumor Cells
Published on: October 13, 2023
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A light-induced hydrogel responsive platform to capture and selectively isolate single circulating tumor cells
Bei Chen1, Ganggang Wang2, Chunyu Huang1
1Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-Structures of Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China. wliu@whu.edu.cn.
Nanoscale
|February 16, 2022
Summary
This study introduces a novel method for isolating rare circulating tumor cells (CTCs) using light-activated hydrogels and nanostructures. This technique enables specific single-cell recovery for accurate downstream analysis, improving cancer diagnostics.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Cell Biology
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Isolating rare circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is crucial for cancer diagnosis and monitoring but remains challenging.
- Existing CTC isolation methods often lack specificity and can affect cell viability due to non-specific release mechanisms.
- There is a need for precise methods to capture and recover individual CTCs for sensitive downstream analyses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel platform for specific single-cell recovery of circulating tumor cells (CTCs).
- To overcome the limitations of current CTC isolation techniques, such as lack of specificity and potential damage to released cells.
- To enable downstream analysis of precisely isolated CTCs for potential clinical applications.
Main Methods:
- Synthesized gelatin nanoparticles (Gnps) for specific CTC capture on a Gnp substrate.
- Utilized a photocurable hydrogel, chondroitin sulfate methacryloyl (CSMA), activated by a 405 nm laser for targeted cell encapsulation.
- Employed MMP-9 enzyme solution to remove unselected cells and microcapillary retrieval for selected CTCs.
- Performed nucleic acid detection on recovered hydrogel-encapsulated cells.
Main Results:
- The developed platform demonstrated specific capture and selective recovery of CTCs.
- The light-induced hydrogel encapsulation preserved cell integrity for downstream analysis.
- The isolation platform exhibited good biocompatibility and successful isolation of selected cells.
- The method showed potential for precise CTC isolation, overcoming limitations of existing techniques.
Conclusions:
- A novel, light-induced, hydrogel-responsive platform was successfully developed for specific single-cell recovery of CTCs.
- This method offers improved specificity and cell viability compared to conventional CTC isolation techniques.
- The platform shows significant potential for advancing clinical applications in cancer diagnostics and personalized medicine.
