Sunitha Nagrath, Ph.D. and Kyle Cuneo, MD
$149,059
CTCs are cells that have detached from a primary tumor and enter the bloodstream with the potential to establish secondary metastatic tumors all over the body. CTCs are prognostic indicators and carry with them information about genetic mutations of the primary tumor and its sensitivity to drugs. As such, CTCs also have the potential to serve as biomarkers of disease recurrence, early detection, response/resistance to therapy, and genomic analysis (“liquid biopsy”) for personalized medicine. However, the concentration of CTCs can be as low as one per billion red blood cells which is difficult to detect and in some cases require many painstaking steps.
Dr. Sunitha Nagrath and her colleagues have developed a cell capture and imaging chip for the sensitive antibody-based isolation of cells directly from whole blood. In principle, any rare cell with corresponding antibodies can be captured from heterogeneous solutions using this chip. It allows on-chip staining and imaging, or extraction of genetic material for further analysis. Current innovations are also enabling release of live cells after capture. By providing a highly sensitive capture technique on a disposable device, the chip enables monitoring of CTC (or other rare cell) counts and further analysis of those cells from patients. The chip has been validated with the use of clinical samples from prostate-, breast- and lung cancer patients.
During the course of Coulter funding, the team explored ways to make the chip manufacturable and automated, and explored where in the market the chip could best meet an unmet need.
Link to technology at UM Tech Transfer: https://inventions.umich.edu/technologies/5137_graphene-oxide-based-circulating-tumor-cell-capture-device or contact Thomas Marten ([email protected]) for more information.