Aptamer-based microfluidics for isolation, release and analysis of circulating tumor cells

Publication date: Available online 9 May 2019Source: TrAC Trends in Analytical ChemistryAuthor(s): Lingling Wu, Lin Zhu, Mengjiao Huang, Jia Song, Huimin Zhang, Yanling Song, Wei Wang, Chaoyong YangAbstractThe analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) holds great significance for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and personalized therapy. However, the rarity, vulnerability and heterogeneity of CTCs bring daunting technical challenges to their isolation, release and analysis. Recent exciting advances in microfluidics have greatly promoted CTC isolation and analysis due to its merits of precise control of fluid behavior, integration, and automation. Especially, aptamer-based microfluidic chip is considered as promising platform, because aptamers as recognition ligands have inherent superiority in CTC isolation and release for their convenient modification and controllable recognition ability. This review focuses on recent progresses in aptamer-based microfluidics for isolation, release and analysis of CTCs. First, existing CTC-related aptamers and their selection methods are briefly introduced. Strategies for conjugating aptamers onto microfluidic chips are also reviewed. Then, aptamer-based microfluidic chips for CTC isolation, release and analysis are summarized. Finally, future research directions and challenges in this field are discussed.
Source: TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research