Issue 5, 2020

Label-free counting of affinity-enriched circulating tumor cells (CTCs) using a thermoplastic micro-Coulter counter (μCC)

Abstract

Coulter counters are used for counting particles and biological cells. Most Coulter counters are designed to analyze a sample without the ability to pre-process the sample prior to counting. For the analysis of rare cells, such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs), it is not uncommon to require enrichment before counting due to the modest throughput of μCCs and the high abundance of interfering cells, such as blood cells. We report a microfluidic-based Coulter Counter (μCC) fabricated using simple, low-cost techniques for counting rare cells that can be interfaced to sample pre- and/or post-processing units. In the current work, a microfluidic device for the affinity-based enrichment of CTCs from whole blood into a relatively small volume of ∼10 μL was interfaced to the μCC to allow for exhaustive counting of single CTCs following release of the CTCs from the enrichment chip. When integrated to the CTC affinity enrichment chip, the μCC could count the CTCs without loss and the cells could be collected for downstream molecular profiling or culturing if required. The μCC sensor counting efficiency was >93% and inter-chip variability was ∼1%.

Graphical abstract: Label-free counting of affinity-enriched circulating tumor cells (CTCs) using a thermoplastic micro-Coulter counter (μCC)

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
12 sep 2019
Accepted
02 dec 2019
First published
11 dec 2019

Analyst, 2020,145, 1677-1686

Label-free counting of affinity-enriched circulating tumor cells (CTCs) using a thermoplastic micro-Coulter counter (μCC)

C. Kong, M. Hu, K. M. Weerakoon-Ratnayake, M. A. Witek, K. Dathathreya, M. L. Hupert and S. A. Soper, Analyst, 2020, 145, 1677 DOI: 10.1039/C9AN01802F

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