Open Access

REVIEW

Microfluidic platform for circulating tumor cells isolation and detection

by JIAHAO ZHANG^1,2,3, JIE REN⁴, ZIRUI LI^1,2,3,*, YIXING GOU^1,2,3,*

1 School of Mechanical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, 300401, China
2 State Key Lab of Reliability and Intelligence of Electrical Equipment, Tianjin, 300401, China
3 National Engineering Research Center for Technological Innovation Method and Tool, Tianjin, 300401, China
4 College of Biological, Chemical Sciences and Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, 314001, China

* Corresponding Authors: ZIRUI LI. Email: ; YIXING GOU. Email:

BIOCELL 2023, 47(7), 1439-1447. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2023.028628

Received 29 December 2022; Accepted 20 March 2023; Issue published 21 June 2023

Abstract

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are essential biomarkers for liquid biopsies, which are important in the early screening, prognosis, and real-time monitoring of cancer. However, CTCs are less abundant in the peripheral blood of patients, therefore, their isolation is necessary. Recently, the use of microfluidics for CTC sorting has become a research hotspot owing to its low cost, ease of integration, low sample consumption, and unique advantages in the manipulation of micron-sized particles. Herein, we review the latest research on microfluidics-based CTC sorting. Specifically, we consider active sorting using external fields (electric, magnetic, acoustic, and optical tweezers) and passive sorting using the flow effects of cells in specific channel structures (microfiltration sorting, deterministic lateral displacement sorting, and inertial sorting). The advantages and limitations of each method and their recent applications are summarized here. To conclude, a forward-looking perspective is presented on future research on the microfluidic sorting of CTCs.

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Keywords

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