Comparison of sample preparation methods for rare cell isolation in microfluidic devices.
Jose I Varillas1, Kangfu Chen2, Pablo Dopico2
1J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, P.O. Box 116131, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
Canadian Journal of Chemistry
|November 7, 2022
Summary
Comparing three methods for preparing blood samples, this study found Ficoll-Paque™, OncoQuick™, and RosetteSep™ show similar performance for capturing rare circulating tumor cells (CTCs) using microfluidics.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Oncology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Circulating tumor cell (CTC) analysis is crucial for cancer diagnosis and prognosis.
- Microfluidic platforms offer advantages for CTC detection but require efficient sample preparation.
- Pre-analytical methods are essential for isolating rare CTCs from large blood volumes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the performance of Ficoll-Paque™, OncoQuick™, and RosetteSep™ for CTC enrichment.
- To evaluate the impact of tumor cell concentration on CTC isolation efficiency.
- To assess the repeatability and variability of pre-analytical methods and microfluidic detection.
Main Methods:
- Spiking L3.6pl pancreatic cancer cells into healthy blood samples.
- Applying Ficoll-Paque™, OncoQuick™, and RosetteSep™ for blood sample preparation.
- Utilizing a microfluidic platform for CTC capture and detection.
Main Results:
- All three pre-analytical methods demonstrated comparable performance in isolating CTCs.
- RosetteSep™ showed a statistically significant, though slight, advantage over Ficoll-Paque™.
- The study quantified CTC loss and assessed method variability.
Conclusions:
- Comparative data on pre-analytical methods for CTC isolation are provided.
- Findings can guide the selection of optimal sample preparation techniques for microfluidic-based CTC analysis.
- This research aids in standardizing CTC detection and correlating clinical study results.


