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Updated: Jun 23, 2026
05:58
Clinical Microfluidic Chip Platform for the Isolation of Versatile Circulating Tumor Cells
Published on: October 13, 2023
Advanced Microchannel Design with Obstacles for Enhanced Separation of Circulating Tumor Cells from Blood Cells
Amirreza Khodayari1,2, Sina Ebrahimi1,2, Mohammadmahdi Topaheidari1,2
1School of Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Azadi Ave, Tehran 1458889694, Iran.
Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids
|June 20, 2026
Summary
This study introduces a novel microfluidic device using rhomboid obstacles for highly efficient circulating tumor cell (CTC) separation. The cost-effective design achieves near-perfect purity and efficiency, advancing cancer diagnostics.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Microfluidics
- Cancer Diagnostics
Background:
- Efficient separation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is vital for cancer diagnostics and treatment.
- Inertial microfluidic channels offer promise but require improved efficiency, purity, and throughput.
- Current methods face challenges in cost-effectiveness and fabrication complexity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel microchannel design for enhanced CTC separation.
- To optimize obstacle geometry using computational simulations for superior performance.
- To create a cost-effective and scalable solution for CTC isolation.
Main Methods:
- Finite element method (FEM) simulations to optimize microchannel obstacle design.
- Introduction of a novel microfluidic channel with rhomboid-shaped obstacles.
- Experimental validation using MCF-7 cells and white blood cells (WBCs).
Main Results:
- The rhomboid obstacle design achieved 100% separation efficiency and purity in simulations.
- Experimental results showed 98.3% ± 1.7% separation efficiency and 95.7% ± 3.8% purity.
- Optimal performance was observed with 15 obstacle steps, demonstrating a significant improvement over other designs.
Conclusions:
- The novel rhomboid-based inertial microfluidic platform significantly enhances CTC separation efficiency and purity.
- The cost-effective, scalable design offers a promising solution for cancer diagnostics and cellular research.
- This work advances particle separation technologies for biomedical applications.
