A feasibility study for enrichment of highly aggressive cancer subpopulations by their biophysical properties via dielectrophoresis enhanced with synergistic fluid flow.

ABSTRACT: A common problem with cancer treatment is the development of treatment resistance and tumor recurrence that result from treatments that kill most tumor cells yet leave behind aggressive cells to repopulate. Presented here is a microfluidic device that can be used to isolate tumor subpopulations to optimize treatment selection. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is a phenomenon where particles are polarized by an electric field and move along the electric field gradient. Different cell subpopulations have different DEP responses depending on their bioelectrical phenotype, which, we hypothesize, correlate with aggressiveness. We have designed a microfluidic device in which a region containing posts locally distorts the electric field created by an AC voltage and forces cells toward the posts through DE

SUBMITTER: Douglas TA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5572319 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature