Isolation of cancer cells on nanomaterial functionalized microfluidic devices

Primary cancerous tumors release cells that either stay locally or metastasize (spread) to different tissues through blood, referred to as circulating tumor cells (CTCs). CTCs are extremely rare in patients with metastatic cancer in initial stages (one cell per 109 hematologic cells in blood approx.) Isolation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is widely pursued as these cells provide valuable information about the metastasis and invasiveness of cancer growth through protein expression and is a critical element for therapeutic monitoring. Conventional batch processing methods do not provide precise safe handling and spatial-temporal manipulation for CTCs. Enrichment of CTCs with microfluidic methods provides a non-surgical, non-invasive and cost-effective alternative for CTC isolation through analysis of body fluids like blood or urine in case of bladder cancer. This thesis presents the fabrication, optimization and capture analysis results of a microfluidic device developed for capturing DU145, a prostate cancer cell line. Potential of the nanomaterial graphene oxide has been investigated in capture of these cells via immuno-affinity binding with the MIL-38 antibody inside the device. Binding affinity of antibodies towards the functionalized surfaces has been explored. The capture rates for DU145 and C3 cell lines on graphene oxide functionalized and non-functionalized surfaces are presented in this thesis.