Highly Efficient Capture of Sarcoma Cells in Microfluidic Devices

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) can serve as a biomarker for cancer diagnosis, treatment management, and prognosis. However, their clinical utility is limited by the rarity and heterogeneity of CTCs in peripheral blood. Microfluidic technology has emerged as a powerful platform for the isolation, detection, and analysis of CTCs, offering high sensitivity and specificity. We have applied lateral filter array microfluidic (LFAM) devices for the enumeration of CTCs in blood samples of sarcoma patients. In this chapter, we detail the fabrication methods of the LFAM devices, with explanations of critical steps and practical considerations. Additionally, we discuss the techniques we employed for the capture and detection of sarcoma CTCs using these devices, highlighting their potential applications in clinical settings.