Isolation and retrieval of circulating tumor cells using centrifugal forces

Presence and frequency of rare circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in bloodstreams of cancer patients are pivotal to early cancer detection and treatment monitoring. Here, we use a spiral microchannel with inherent centrifugal forces for continuous, size-based separation of CTCs from blood (Dean Flow Fractionation (DFF)) which facilitates easy coupling with conventional downstream biological assays. Device performance was optimized using cancer cell lines (> 85% recovery), followed by clinical validation with positive CTCs enumeration in all samples from patients with metastatic lung cancer (n = 20; 5-88 CTCs per mL). The presence of CD133⁺ cells, a phenotypic marker characteristic of stem-like behavior in lung…

• NR
  National Research Foundation
• NU
  National University of Singapore
• NR
  National Research Foundation Singapore
• MI
  Mechanobiology Institute, Singapore
• MR
  Medical Research Council
• NM
  National Medical Research Council