Detection of Circulating Endothelial Cells via a Microfluidic Disk

Abstract

BACKGROUND:Circulating endothelial cells (CECs) in the blood are rare but have been shown to be associated with various diseases. With the ratio of CECs to peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) less than 1 part per thousand, their separation from PBMCs and detection are challenging. We present a means of detecting CECs from PBMCs via an economical microfluidic disk with a model cell system [human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in PBMCs], along with demonstration of its efficacy clinically.

Same‐day prenatal diagnosis of common chromosomal aneuploidies using microfluidics‐fluorescence in situ hybridization

“…[28][29][30] In vascular cell biology, microfluidics systems were used to mimic the vascular system in vivo with three-dimensional models of vascular tissue to study vascular dysfunction, 31 woundhealing, 32 and red blood cell dynamics affecting adenosine triphosphate release. 33 The widespread utility of microfluidics was demonstrated in different fields including the capture and detection of circulating tumor cells 34 and circulating endothelial cells, 35 early detection of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, 36 toxicogenomic analysis, 37 single cell analysis of gene expression, 38 screening of newborns for lysosomal storage disease, 39 and detection of infectious diseases. 40,41 As microfluidic-based technologies allow an integration of different steps and/or reactions into miniaturized lab-on-chip platforms, the analytical resolution and samples throughput are enhanced.…”

Microchips and their Significance in Isolation of Circulating Tumor Cells and Monitoring of Cancers

“…Currently, new generation of chips in micro-scales have been developed which are able to collect the magnetically-labeled CTCs from blood samples (Chen et al, 2011b). In 2009, a sort of chip called "Magsweeper chip" with immunomagnetic separation technology was applied to isolate the breast cancer cells from whole blood (Moon et al, 2011).…”

Micro Total Analysis Systems for Cell Biology and Biochemical Assays

“…The collection and detection of magnetically-labeled CTCs was automated on a microdisk format. 183 Microfluidic channels coated with antibodies have also been used to capture CTCs. Recent methods increased the quantity of cell-substrate contact events by introducing chaotic mixing and increasing the effective surface area through the incorporation of a herringbone structure (Figure 8c) 184 or silicon nanopillars.…”