Abstract

Integrated Microfluidic Systems for the Efficient Isolation of Circulating Leukemia Cells and Circulating Plasma Cells

Steve Soper, Foundation Distinguished Professor; Director, Center of BioModular Multi-scale System for Precision Medicine, Adjunct Professor, Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology, The University of Kansas

Liquid biopsies are generating great interest within the biomedical community due to the simplicity for securing important biomarkers to manage complex diseases. We are developing a suite of microfluidic devices that can process whole blood directly and engineered to efficiently search for a variety of disease-associated liquid biopsy markers and their subsequent molecular analysis. One microfluidic device can isolate targets with recovery >90% and high purity (>80%) to enable downstream analysis of the particular biomarker without requiring single cell picking. We have also developed a microfluidic device for imaging single cells. The aforementioned microfluidic devices can be interfaced to a fluidic motherboard to allow for full process automation, including cell selection from blood and then, immunophenotyping and/or FISH of the isolated cells. In this presentation, information will be shared on the operational parameters of these devices for the selection of liquid biopsy markers, and the downstream molecular information that can be garnered from the isolated markers in acute myeloid / acute lymphoblastic leukemia (circulating leukemia cells) and multiple myeloma (circulating plasma cells). The attractive nature of using liquid biopsy markers for these two diseases is that it circumvents the need for a patient to undergo a painful bone marrow biopsy. Information will be provided as to the use of these liquid biopsy markers to monitor relapse from minimum residual disease, and stage patients for directing therapy.