title: Tapered-slit membrane filters for high-throughput viable circulating tumor cell isolation.
abstract: This paper presents tapered-slit membrane filters for high-throughput viable circulating tumor cell (CTC) isolation. The membrane filter with a 2D array of vertical tapered slits with a gap that is wide at the entrance and gradually decreases with depth, provide minimal cell stress and reduce 82.14% of the stress generated in conventional straight-hole filters. We designed two types of tapered-slit filters, Filters 6 and 8, respectively, containing the tapered slits with outlet widths of 6 μm and 8 μm at a slit density of 34,445/cm(2) on the membrane. We fabricated the vertical slits with a tapered angle of 2 ° on a SU8 membrane by adjusting the UV expose dose and the air gap between the membrane and the photomask during lithography. In the experimental study, the proposed tapered-slit filter captured 89.87% and 82.44% of the cancer cells spiked in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and diluted blood (blood: PBS = 1:4), respectively, at a sample flow rate of 5 ml per hour, which is 33.3 times faster than previous lateral tapered-slit filters. We further verified the capability to culture on chip after capturing: 72.33% of cells among the captured cells still remained viable after a 5-day culture. The proposed tapered-slit membrane filters verified high-throughput viable CTC isolation capability, thereby inaugurating further advanced CTC research for cancer diagnosis and prognosis.
authors: Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, South Korea.
authors: Yoon-Tae
authors: YT
authors: Kang
authors: Il
authors: I
authors: Doh
authors: Young-Ho
authors: YH
authors: Cho
mesh_terms: D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D004867:Equipment Design; D057166:High-Throughput Screening Assays / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006801:Humans; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000473:pathology; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial