researchers inMIT Turn to jellyfish for inspiration to develop a device capable of detecting cancer cells in a blood sample efficiently and quickly.
By: Dafna Haim-Langford
Cancer cells that are in the blood circulation are a very important source of information regarding the effectiveness of the patient's treatment. The amount of cells and their type can indicate the progress of the disease, the effectiveness of the treatment and whether it is necessary to change the doses of drugs or the therapeutic approach in the same patient. In addition, the presence of cancer cells in the bloodstream can indicate the recurrence of a cancer tumor or allow early diagnosis of an existing disease. But first, these cells must be successfully isolated from the other cells in the blood.
Many scientists are developing devices to isolate cancer cells from the blood (Circulation Tumor Cells - CTCs), but these processes are relatively slow and when those cells are found, it is difficult to separate them for further analysis.
A new device developed in collaboration between researchers at MIT and the Brigham and Women's Hospital in the USA overcomes these difficulties inspired by the arms of the jellyfish. In the absence of fast movement, the jellyfish has long, flexible and numerous arms that allow it to cover significant surface areas relatively quickly in order to catch prey and paralyze it Inspired by these arms, the team of researchers built tiny, long channels that he lined with long strands of DNA To "program" and adjust it so that it is sensitive to unique proteins found on the cancer cell envelope, in this case blood cancer. Using this strategy, the researchers achieved a flow rate 10 times higher than existing devices, which makes the system relevant for clinical use. In addition, the isolation of the cancer cells from the blood stream Enables personalized medicine by testing the effectiveness of various drugs on the cells under laboratory conditions.
The number of cancer cells in the bloodstream ranges from a few cells to thousands of cells, and therefore the isolation of these cells is complex. The "DNA arms" are connected to a tiny channel with a herringbone-shaped structure at the bottom, which creates a vortex that increases the chance that cancer cells will come into contact with the arms, thus the researchers significantly increased the ability to identify the cells despite rapid blood flow.
At this stage, the device is able to capture 60-80% of the target cells at a rate of 1 milliliter per hour and its enlargement can double the rate a hundredfold. In addition, since the arms are made of DNA, enzymatic decomposition allows the cells to be detached from the system and transferred for further analysis.
Screening tests, diagnostic tools, monitoring treatment progress and developing personalized medicine are just some of the applications for an efficient device that allows the identification and removal of specific cells from a blood sample.
