Microfluidic device enables less invasive cancer diagnostics

Researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) have developed a new device that can detect and analyse cancer cells from blood samples, enabling doctors to avoid invasive biopsy surgeries. Their work has been outlined in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics.

Those with suspected cancer, particularly in organs such as the liver, colon or kidney, often require surgery for a definitive diagnosis. But while an accurate diagnosis is vital to effective treatment, getting a biopsy can cause discomfort to patients, as well as an increased risk of complications due to surgery and higher costs.

“Managing cancer through the assessment of tumour cells in blood samples is far less invasive than taking tissue biopsies,” said Professor Majid Warkiani from the UTS School of Biomedical Engineering. “It allows doctors to do repeat tests and monitor a patient’s response to treatment.”

The Static Droplet Microfluidic device is able to rapidly detect circulating tumour cells that have broken away from a primary tumour and entered the bloodstream. The device uses a unique metabolic signature of cancer to differentiate tumour cells from normal blood cells.

“In the 1920s, Otto Warburg discovered that cancer cells consume a lot of glucose and so produce more lactate. Our device monitors single cells for increased lactate using pH-sensitive fluorescent dyes that detect acidification around cells,” Warkiani said.

“A single tumour cell can exist among billions of blood cells in just one millilitre of blood, making it very difficult to find. The new detection technology has 38,400 chambers capable of isolating and classifying the number of metabolically active tumour cells.”

Once the tumour cells are identified, they can undergo genetic and molecular analysis, which can aid in the diagnosis and classification of the cancer and inform personalised treatment plans. The researchers further noted that circulating tumour cells are precursors of metastasis — where cancer migrates to distant organs — so studying these cells may provide insights into the biology of cancer metastasis and inform the development of new treatments.

Whereas existing liquid biopsy technologies are time-consuming, expensive and reliant on skilled operators, limiting their application in clinical settings, the new technology is designed for integration into research and clinical labs without relying on high-end equipment and trained operators. The UTS research team has already filed a provisional patent for the Static Droplet Microfluidic device and has plans to commercialise the product.

Image caption: The Static Droplet Microfluidic device is able to rapidly detect circulating tumour cells that have broken away from a primary tumour and entered the bloodstream. Image credit: Dr Majid Warkiani.