Release date: 2017-05-17
The first author of the study, Yu-Chih Chen, led the development of a chip that can release specific cells by laser. (Source: Michigan Engineering)
The organs on the chip have increasingly become a research tool that scientific researchers prefer, and different types of cells create a microfluidic culture environment on the chip, which can simulate some functions of real organs to some extent.
Scientists have begun experimenting with organs on the chip to understand disease and develop new treatments, such as cancer.
For cancer, the study of cancer cells on microfluidic chips is expected to help us uncover the mysteries of cancer cell metastasis. How to enable a single cell to achieve a non-destructive and accurate release from the chip is a prerequisite for the study of the "evolution" process of cancer cells.
To this end, researchers from the University of Michigan have developed a new type of microfluidic chip that enables single cell screening and non-destructive release. The study was published in ACS NANO.
Schematic diagram of the design principle of the new chip. (Source: ACS NANO)
At the bottom of the chip is a carbon nanotube-polycarbonate-polydimethylsiloxane composite. When cancer cells "settle" on the surface of the composite, it will adsorb to the surface. How can you skillfully achieve the release of a single cell? The researchers applied a nanosecond laser pulse to the chip from the outside near the cell. After the light energy was absorbed by the carbon nanotubes, the nanotubes were warmed up. The air trapped between the nanotubes and the polydimethylsiloxane expands, and the expanded gas passes through the polymer layer so that the cells are gently separated from the bottom of the chip and released, just like blowing bubbles.
The laser produces a process in which bubbles release cells. (Source: Yu-Chih Chen, Yoon Lab)
Studies have further demonstrated that this release mode preserves cell viability, membrane protein and mRNA expression levels. This precise release is very challenging and research-oriented. The destruction of surface proteins is an important way to identify cancer stem cells.
The project leader, Professor Euisik Yoon from Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, said the ultimate goal is to find out what drives these cancer cells to “self-renewal†and make these aggressive cancer cells behave like stem cells.
This cancer stem cell can split and turn into different kinds of cancer cells by turning on or off different genes. If we can turn off stem cell-like properties, cancer can't grow and spread.
With the help of this new microfluidic chip, researchers can find the key genes for cancer cell self-renewal.
Lossless precision cell release means that on the chip, sister cancer cells from the same primitive cancer cells can be easily compared, and scientists are expected to perform accurate genetic analysis of cancer cell lineages through this. This chip study can be used to explore how cancer cells divide and metastasize, and why some cancer cells are resistant to drugs.
The first author, Yu-Chih Chen, said that if we were able to identify some key genes, or potential drug targets, drug researchers could develop a compound to target it.
In the future, cancer is expected to achieve what the researchers call a "functional cure," similar to the management of HIV. Cancer does not have to be eradicated. If we can stop the growth and metastasis of cancer, then we can make cancer patients live a healthy life.
Reference material
[1] 'Sister cell' profiling aims to shutdown cancer metastasis
[2] Selective Photomechanical Detachmentand Retrieval of Divided Sister Cells from Enclosed Microfluidics forDownstream Analyses
Source: Health New Vision (Micro Signal HealthHorizon)
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