Lin Lin, Zhu Rongxing, Li Wang, Dong Guoqiang, You Hui
Key Laboratory of Disaster Prevention and Structural Safety of Ministry of Education, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China.
School of Mechanical Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China.
Micromachines (Basel). 2024 Mar 22;15(4):421. doi: 10.3390/mi15040421.
The precise isolation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood samples is a potent tool for cancer diagnosis and clinical prognosis. However, CTCs are present in extremely low quantities in the bloodstream, posing a significant challenge to their isolation. In this study, we propose a non-contact acoustic micropillar array (AMPA) chip based on acoustic streaming for the flexible, label-free capture of cancer cells. Three shapes of micropillar array chips (circular, rhombus, and square) were fabricated. The acoustic streaming characteristics generated by the vibration of microstructures of different shapes are studied in depth by combining simulation and experiment. The critical parameters (voltage and flow rate) of the device were systematically investigated using microparticle experiments to optimize capture performance. Subsequently, the capture efficiencies of the three micropillar structures were experimentally evaluated using mouse whole blood samples containing cancer cells. The experimental results revealed that the rhombus microstructure was selected as the optimal shape, demonstrating high capture efficiency (93%) and cell activity (96%). Moreover, the reversibility of the acoustic streaming was harnessed for the flexible release and capture of cancer cells, facilitating optical detection and analysis. This work holds promise for applications in monitoring cancer metastasis, bio-detection, and beyond.
从血液样本中精确分离循环肿瘤细胞（CTC）是癌症诊断和临床预后的有力工具。然而，CTC在血液中的含量极低，这给它们的分离带来了重大挑战。在本研究中，我们提出了一种基于声流的非接触式声学微柱阵列（AMPA）芯片，用于灵活、无标记地捕获癌细胞。制作了三种形状的微柱阵列芯片（圆形、菱形和方形）。通过模拟和实验相结合的方式，深入研究了不同形状微结构振动产生的声流特性。使用微粒实验系统地研究了该装置的关键参数（电压和流速），以优化捕获性能。随后，使用含有癌细胞的小鼠全血样本对三种微柱结构的捕获效率进行了实验评估。实验结果表明，菱形微结构被选为最佳形状，具有高捕获效率（93%）和细胞活性（96%）。此外，利用声流的可逆性实现了癌细胞的灵活释放和捕获，便于光学检测和分析。这项工作在监测癌症转移、生物检测等方面具有应用前景。
