An Enzyme-Loaded Metal-Organic Framework-Assisted Microfluidic Platform Enables Single-Cell Metabolite Analysis

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Metabolomics
• Microfluidics

Background:

• Tumor metastasis relies on metastatic microenvironments, influenced by single-cell metabolism.
• Evaluating intrinsic metabolic traits is crucial for understanding tumor malignancy and metastasis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a high-throughput single-cell microfluidic platform for dynamic monitoring of tumor cell metabolites.
• To assess tumor malignancy and predict tumorigenicity using metabolic profiling.
• To screen for potential anti-metastatic drugs and detect aggressive cancer cells.

Main Methods:

• A novel microfluidic device for efficient isolation (>99%) of single cancer cells in a squashed state.
• Utilizing enzyme-packaged metal-organic frameworks for catalyzing and visualizing tumor cell metabolites.
• Validation through in vivo assays and detection in unprocessed whole blood samples.

Main Results:

• The platform accurately predicted the tumorigenicity of captured tumor cells.
• Successfully screened metabolic inhibitors as potential anti-metastatic drugs.
• Demonstrated high sensitivity in detecting aggressive cancer cells directly from whole blood.

Conclusions:

• The developed microfluidic platform enables dynamic metabolic monitoring of single tumor cells for malignancy assessment.
• This technology holds significant potential for predicting metastasis, screening anti-cancer drugs, and early cancer detection in clinical settings.