Repeated biopsies of tumours can be a painful and distressing procedure for cancer patients. A new biochip developed by researchers in Singapore can isolate tumour cells from blood samples, and may one day be an alternative to more invasive methods for tracking later stage cancers.
Operating principle of circulating tumour cell enrichment by a spiral channel with trapezoid cross-section
Deaths from cancer generally occur after the cancer has spread. Cells detach from the primary tumour and travel through the blood, subsequently forming new tumours. Being able to isolate and characterise these circulating tumour cells (CTCs) can provide information about the original tumour. However, CTCs exist in very low numbers in the blood stream and hence require enrichment and separation before analysis.
Read the full article in Chemistry World
Slanted spiral microfluidics for the ultra-fast, label-free isolation of circulating tumor cells
E W Majid et al, Lab Chip, 2013, Accepted manuscript, Paper
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC50617G
