Antibody-coated microstructures for selective isolation of immune cells in blood

Lab Chip. 2020 Mar 17;20(6):1072-1082. doi: 10.1039/d0lc00078g.

Abstract

Cell isolation from blood is an important process for diagnosing immune diseases. There are still demands for a user-friendly approach to achieve high cell extraction efficiency and purity of a target immune cell subtype for more promising diagnosis and monitoring. For selective immune cell isolation, we developed a microstructured device, which consists of antibody-coated micropillars and micro-sieve arrays, for isolating a target immune cell subtype from bovine blood samples. The focusing micropillars can guide immune cells flowing to the subsequent micro-sieves based on deterministic lateral shifts of the cells. The arrangement of these microstructures is characterized and configured for the maximal cell capture rate. Surface modification with a selected antibody offers selective cell capture in the micro-sieves based on the antigen-antibody reaction. We prepare a cell mixture of human CD14-expressing leukemia cells (THP-1) and epithelial cells (MDA-MB-231) in diluted blood to characterize the cell isolation operation, with a selective cell isolation yield of >80%, cell purity of ∼100% and cell viability of >93%. Together, this microstructured device strategy can achieve high-yield selective isolation of immune cells from blood samples and support downstream genetic and biochemical cell analyses, contributing to the medical diagnosis of a broad range of immune diseases.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antibodies
  • Cattle
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Separation
  • Cell Survival
  • Humans
  • Neoplastic Cells, Circulating*

Substances

  • Antibodies