Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, BioMEMS and Bioinspired Microfluidic Laboratory, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
Center for BioEngineering Research and Education, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
Biotechnol Bioeng. 2018 Oct;115(10):2504-2529. doi: 10.1002/bit.26787. Epub 2018 Aug 1.
Isolation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood has long been a challenge due to the rarity and heterogeneity of these cells. Detection technologies have predominantly focused on different molecular or physical properties of CTCs. Size-based isolation approach using microfilters have been widely used to capture CTCs because of the difference in size and stiffness of the cells compared to other hemocytes. Isolation of rare cells based on their size was the original CTC enrichment technique and it demonstrated a simple yet rapid method that enhanced the recovery of cells with high throughput. In this review, we highlight key technical aspects of filter-based isolation, detection, and characterization of CTCs, and compare the clinical performance of filter-based devices with the approved platforms and immunoassays used for the analysis of CTCs. We have also discussed future prospective and incorporation of advances in immunochemistry technique into the filter-based platforms for enhancing the utility in clinical settings.
由于循环肿瘤细胞 (CTCs) 的稀有性和异质性，从血液中分离 CTCs 一直是一个挑战。检测技术主要集中在 CTCs 的不同分子或物理特性上。基于大小的分离方法使用微滤器来捕获 CTCs，因为与其他血细胞相比，这些细胞的大小和刚性存在差异。基于大小的稀有细胞分离是最初的 CTC 富集技术，它展示了一种简单而快速的方法，提高了高通量下具有高细胞回收率的细胞的恢复。在这篇综述中，我们强调了基于滤器的 CTC 分离、检测和特征分析的关键技术方面，并比较了基于滤器的设备与用于 CTC 分析的批准平台和免疫测定的临床性能。我们还讨论了未来的前景以及将免疫化学技术的进步纳入基于滤器的平台，以增强在临床环境中的应用。
