title: Microfluidics in the selection of affinity reagents for the detection of cancer: paving a way towards future diagnostics.
abstract: Microfluidic technologies have miniaturized a variety of biomedical applications, and these chip-based systems have several significant advantages over their large-scale counterparts. Recently, this technology has been used for automating labor-intensive and time-consuming screening processes, whereby affinity reagents, including aptamers, peptides, antibodies, polysaccharides, glycoproteins, and a variety of small molecules, are used to probe for molecular biomarkers. When compared to conventional methods, the microfluidic approaches are faster, more compact, require considerably smaller quantities of samples and reagents, and can be automated. Furthermore, they allow for more precise control of reaction conditions (e.g., pH, temperature, and shearing forces) such that more efficient screening can be performed. A variety of affinity reagents for targeting cancer cells or cancer biomarkers are now available and will likely replace conventional antibodies. In this review article, the selection of affinity reagents for cancer cells or cancer biomarkers on microfluidic platforms is reviewed with the aim of highlighting the utility of such approaches in cancer diagnostics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Power Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 30013 Taiwan. gwobin@pme.nthu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Lien-Yu
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.forename: Chih-Hung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Chien-Yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Priya
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gopinathan
authors.forename: Gwo-Bin
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D055910:Antibodies, Immobilized / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D000912:Antibodies, Neoplasm / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D006801:Humans; D061925:Immobilized Nucleic Acids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D055767:Immobilized Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D056656:Lab-On-A-Chip Devices / Q000639:trends; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D008024:Ligands; D051379:Mice; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D009841:Oligonucleotides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D057127:Single-Chain Antibodies / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D055910:Antibodies, Immobilized; D000912:Antibodies, Neoplasm; D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D061925:Immobilized Nucleic Acids; D055767:Immobilized Proteins; D008024:Ligands; D009841:Oligonucleotides; D057127:Single-Chain Antibodies