Abstract

Microfluidic Strategies for Isolation and Enrichment of Circulating Biomarkers

Hyo-Il Jung, Professor, Yonsei University

Cancer-derived materials can be obtained from various body fluids (liquid biopsy) using a minimally invasive manner and provide information for disease progression in real-time. Circulating biomarkers (CBs) analyzable through such liquid biopsy include circulating tumor cells (CTCs), exosomes, circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA), miRNA, and proteins. Microfluidic devices for the isolation and detection of CBs have been actively developed because they can be utilized for the fields of diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. However, owing to the rarity and heterogeneity of CTCs, CTC research should have overcome technical hurdles. Exosomes and cfDNA are being highlighted as new target materials because they also have genetic information on cancers. In this presentation, several microfluidic technologies for circulating biomarkers will be introduced and discussed for the future directions in cancer screening, detection, and diagnostics.