Lateral Filter Array Microfluidic Devices for Detecting Circulating Tumor Cells.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are an important liquid biopsy biomarker for next-generation cancer diagnosis and prognosis. However, their clinical usage is hindered by the rarity of CTCs in patient's peripheral blood. Microfluidics has shown unique advantages in CTC isolation and detection. We have developed lateral filter array microfluidic (LFAM) devices for highly efficient CTC isolation. In this chapter, we describe in detail the design and fabrication of the LFAM devices and their applications for CTC enumeration from clinical blood samples.