Dataset Information

Aptamer-enabled efficient isolation of cancer cells from whole blood using a microfluidic device.

ABSTRACT: Circulating tumor cells (CTC) in the peripheral blood could provide important information for diagnosis of cancer metastasis and monitoring treatment progress. However, CTC are extremely rare in the bloodstream, making their detection and characterization technically challenging. We report here the development of an aptamer-mediated, micropillar-based microfluidic device that is able to efficiently isolate tumor cells from unprocessed whole blood. High-affinity aptamers were used as an alternative to antibodies for cancer cell isolation. The microscope-slide-sized device consists of >59,000 micropillars, which enhanced the probability of the interactions between aptamers and target cancer cells. The device geometry and the flow rate were investigated and optimized by studying their effects on the isolation of target leukemia cells from a cell mixture. The device yielded a capture efficiency of ~95% with purity of ~81% at the optimum flow rate of 600 nL/s. Further, we exploited the device for isolating colorectal tumor cells from unprocessed whole blood; as few as 10 tumor cells were captured from 1 mL of whole blood. We also addressed the question of low throughput of a typical microfluidic device by processing 1 mL of blood within 28 min. In addition, we found that ~93% of the captured cells were viable, making them suitable for subsequent molecular and cellular studies.

SUBMITTER: Sheng W

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3341496 | biostudies-literature | 2012 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Aptamer-enabled efficient isolation of cancer cells from whole blood using a microfluidic device.

Sheng Weian W Chen Tao T Kamath Rahul R Xiong Xiangling X Tan Weihong W Fan Z Hugh ZH

Analytical chemistry 20120417 9

Circulating tumor cells (CTC) in the peripheral blood could provide important information for diagnosis of cancer metastasis and monitoring treatment progress. However, CTC are extremely rare in the bloodstream, making their detection and characterization technically challenging. We report here the development of an aptamer-mediated, micropillar-based microfluidic device that is able to efficiently isolate tumor cells from unprocessed whole blood. High-affinity aptamers were used as an alternati ...[more]

PMID: 22482734

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Project description:Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) are a crucial diagnostic and monitoring tool for infectious diseases. A key procedural step for NAATs is sample preparation: separating and purifying target nucleic acids from crude biological samples prior to nucleic acid amplification and detection. Traditionally, sample preparation has been performed with liquid- or solid-phase extraction, both of which require multiple trained user steps and significant laboratory equipment. The challenges associated with sample preparation have limited the dissemination of NAAT point-of-care diagnostics in low resource environments, including low- and middle-income countries. We report on a paper-based device for purification of nucleic acids from whole blood using isotachophoresis (ITP) for point-of-care NAATs. We show successful extraction and purification of target nucleic acids from large volumes (33 µL) of whole human blood samples with no moving parts and few user steps. Our device utilizes paper-based buffer reservoirs to fully contain the liquid ITP buffers and does not require complex filling procedures, instead relying on the natural wicking of integrated paper membranes. We perform on-device blood fractionation via filtration to remove leukocytes and erythrocytes from our sample, followed by integrated on-paper proteolytic digestion of endogenous plasma proteins to allow for successful isotachophoretic extraction. Paper-based isotachophoresis purifies and concentrates target nucleic acids that are added directly to recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) reactions. We show consistent amplification of input copy concentrations of as low as 3 × 103 copies nucleic acid per mL input blood with extraction and purification taking only 30 min. By employing a paper architecture, we are able to incorporate these processes in a single, robust, low-cost design, enabling the direct processing of large volumes of blood, with the only intermediate user steps being the removal and addition of tape. Our device represents a step towards a simple, fully integrated sample preparation system for nucleic acid amplification tests at the point-of-care.

Dataset Information

Aptamer-enabled efficient isolation of cancer cells from whole blood using a microfluidic device.

Publications

Aptamer-enabled efficient isolation of cancer cells from whole blood using a microfluidic device.

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