Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2026
Capture and Release of Viable Circulating Tumor Cells from Blood
Published on: October 28, 2016
Characterization of Circulating Tumor Cells and Other Rare Cells in Blood Using the RareCyte Platform
Arturo B Ramirez1, Jon Ladd2, Erin G Bayer2
1RareCyte Inc., Seattle, WA, USA. aramirez@rarecyte.com.
Rare cell populations in blood are of high research and diagnostic interest. The RareCyte platform is an end-to-end technology solution from sample collection to fluorescence imaging-based detection and characterization of rare cells from whole blood samples. The benefits of the platform include ease of use, robust repeatability, automated staining using validated protocols and reagent kits, post-collection stability of blood samples, long-term storage of processed slide smears before testing, high-sensitivity detection of rare cells, dual-biomarker phenotypic characterization of rare cells, single rare cell isolation for molecular analysis, and flexibility to detect non-epithelial cells of interest in circulation. For this volume, we will focus on circulating tumor cells (CTCs) as exemplar rare cells for analysis.The workflow begins by collecting blood samples into AccuCyte® blood collection tubes (BCTs). These BCTs stabilize the blood and its components for at least 7 days, at room temperature, thus enabling a sample to be shipped from the draw site to a laboratory anywhere in the world for processing onto microscope slides. The AccuCyte sample preparation process uses density-based separation to comprehensively collect the nucleated cell fraction (buffy coat) of the blood and spread it as an adherent monolayer onto microscope slides. At this point, the sample can be frozen for long-term storage and banked for at least three years before testing. As an additional product of the sample processing workflow, high-purity plasma containing cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is isolated from the same sample and can be used to measure circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA).Slide staining is performed using automated instruments, which utilize immunofluorescent reagents to detect markers that allow CTC enumeration and measurement of biomarker expression on CTCs. The stained slides are scanned on CyteFinder® instruments, which use high-speed, high-resolution optics to scan the slides to detect and quantify protein expression on CTCs. A machine learning-based algorithm processes the images and presents high-confidence objects of interest for a reviewer to confirm as CTCs. After the CTC has been confirmed, its expression of up to two biomarkers of interest can be quantified and reported. CTCs can also be isolated from the slides using a semi-automated single cell picker called CytePicker®, which uses a precision-controlled 25 µm needle tip to remove the cell physically from the slide and deposit it into a PCR tube for molecular characterization of DNA or RNA via next-generation sequencing.This comprehensive, reliable, imaged-based CTC platform is being utilized in global clinical trials ranging from early pharmacodynamic studies to drug-target/effector quantitation in human subjects.
Rare cell populations in blood are of high research and diagnostic interest. The RareCyte platform is an end-to-end technology solution from sample collection to fluorescence imaging-based detection and characterization of rare cells from whole blood samples. The benefits of the platform include ease of use, robust repeatability, automated staining using validated protocols and reagent kits, post-collection stability of blood samples, long-term storage of processed slide smears before testing, high-sensitivity detection of rare cells, dual-biomarker phenotypic characterization of rare cells, single rare cell isolation for molecular analysis, and flexibility to detect non-epithelial cells of interest in circulation. For this volume, we will focus on circulating tumor cells (CTCs) as exemplar rare cells for analysis.The workflow begins by collecting blood samples into AccuCyte® blood collection tubes (BCTs). These BCTs stabilize the blood and its components for at least 7 days, at room temperature, thus enabling a sample to be shipped from the draw site to a laboratory anywhere in the world for processing onto microscope slides. The AccuCyte sample preparation process uses density-based separation to comprehensively collect the nucleated cell fraction (buffy coat) of the blood and spread it as an adherent monolayer onto microscope slides. At this point, the sample can be frozen for long-term storage and banked for at least three years before testing. As an additional product of the sample processing workflow, high-purity plasma containing cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is isolated from the same sample and can be used to measure circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA).Slide staining is performed using automated instruments, which utilize immunofluorescent reagents to detect markers that allow CTC enumeration and measurement of biomarker expression on CTCs. The stained slides are scanned on CyteFinder® instruments, which use high-speed, high-resolution optics to scan the slides to detect and quantify protein expression on CTCs. A machine learning-based algorithm processes the images and presents high-confidence objects of interest for a reviewer to confirm as CTCs. After the CTC has been confirmed, its expression of up to two biomarkers of interest can be quantified and reported. CTCs can also be isolated from the slides using a semi-automated single cell picker called CytePicker®, which uses a precision-controlled 25 µm needle tip to remove the cell physically from the slide and deposit it into a PCR tube for molecular characterization of DNA or RNA via next-generation sequencing.This comprehensive, reliable, imaged-based CTC platform is being utilized in global clinical trials ranging from early pharmacodynamic studies to drug-target/effector quantitation in human subjects.