Antibody-independent isolation of circulating tumor cells by continuous-flow dielectrophoresis

Sangjo Shim, Katherine Stemke-Hale, Apostolia M. Tsimberidou, Jamileh Noshari, Thomas E. Anderson, Peter R.C. Gascoyne

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

181 Scopus citations

Abstract

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are prognostic markers for the recurrence of cancer and may carry molecular information relevant to cancer diagnosis. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) has been proposed as a molecular marker-independent approach for isolating CTCs from blood and has been shown to be broadly applicable to different types of cancers. However, existing batch-mode microfluidic DEP methods have been unable to process 10 ml clinical blood specimens rapidly enough. To achieve the required processing rates of 106 nucleated cells/min, we describe a continuous flow microfluidic processing chamber into which the peripheral blood mononuclear cell fraction of a clinical specimen is slowly injected, deionized by diffusion, and then subjected to a balance of DEP, sedimentation and hydrodynamic lift forces. These forces cause tumor cells to be transported close to the floor of the chamber, while blood cells are carried about three cell diameters above them. The tumor cells are isolated by skimming them from the bottom of the chamber while the blood cells flow to waste. The principles, design, and modeling of the continuous-flow system are presented. To illustrate operation of the technology, we demonstrate the isolation of circulating colon tumor cells from clinical specimens and verify the tumor origin of these cells by molecular analysis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number011807
JournalBiomicrofluidics
Volume7
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 4 2013

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biomedical Engineering
  • General Materials Science
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes
  • Colloid and Surface Chemistry

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