This paper proposes a microfluidic device for screening molecules such as aptamers, antibodies, proteins, etc. for target cell-specific binding molecules. The discovery of cancer cell-specific binding molecules was the goal of this study. Its functions include filtering non-target cell-binding molecules, trapping molecules on the surface of target cells, washing away unbound molecules, and collecting target cell-specific binding molecules from target cells. These functions were effectively implemented by using our previously developed micro pillar arrays for cell homogeneous dispersion and pneumatic microvalves for tall microchannels. The device was also equipped with serially connected filter chambers in which non-target cells were cultured to reduce the molecules binding to non-target cells as much as possible. We evaluated the performance of the device using cancer cell lines (N87 cells as target cells and HeLa cells as non-target cells) and two fluorescent dye-labeled antibodies: Anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (anti-HER2) antibody that binds to target cells and anti-integrin antibody that binds to non-target cells. The results showed that the device could reduce anti-integrin antibodies to the detection limit of fluorescent measurement and collect anti-HER2 antibodies from the target cells.
Keywords: adherent cells; cell homogenous dispersion structure; microfluidic device; pneumatic microvalve; screening; target cell-specific binding molecules.