Continuous Separation of Circulating Tumor Cells from Whole Blood Using a Slanted Weir Microfluidic Device

The separation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from the peripheral blood is an important issue that has been highlighted because of their high clinical potential. However, techniques that depend solely on tumor-specific surface molecules or just the larger size of CTCs are limited by tumor heterog...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cancers 2019-02, Vol.11 (2), p.200
Main Authors: Yoon, Yousang, Lee, Jusin, Ra, Moonsoo, Gwon, Hyeokshin, Lee, Seungwon, Kim, Min Young, Yoo, Ki-Chun, Sul, Onejae, Kim, Chul Geun, Kim, Whoi-Yul, Park, Jea-Gun, Lee, Su-Jae, Lee, Young Yiul, Choi, Ho Soon, Lee, Seung-Beck
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antibodies
Biopsy
Breast cancer
Cancer
Deformability
Efficiency
Erythrocytes
Fluid dynamics
Geometry
Hydraulics
Image processing
Invasiveness
Leukocytes
Metastasis
Peripheral blood
Pressure distribution
Tumor cells
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Summary:The separation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from the peripheral blood is an important issue that has been highlighted because of their high clinical potential. However, techniques that depend solely on tumor-specific surface molecules or just the larger size of CTCs are limited by tumor heterogeneity. Here, we present a slanted weir microfluidic device that utilizes the size and deformability of CTCs to separate them from the unprocessed whole blood. By testing its ability using a highly invasive breast cancer cell line, our device achieved a 97% separation efficiency, while showing an 8-log depletion of erythrocytes and 5.6-log depletion of leukocytes. We also developed an image analysis tool that was able to characterize the various morphologies and differing deformability of the separating cells. From the results, we believe our system possesses a high potential for liquid biopsy, aiding future cancer research.
ISSN:2072-6694
2072-6694
DOI:10.3390/cancers11020200