It is known that the blood of a person suffering from cancer contains a small amount of cancer cells exfoliated from the primary cancer lesion.However, while there are about 1 billion blood cells such as red blood cells and white blood cells in 50 mL of blood, there are only a few to 10 cancer cells, so it has been extremely difficult to detect them.Moreover, even if a device for detection can be developed, expensive equipment and reagents are often required, which has been a bottleneck in practical use.

　On the other hand, in this research, we have developed a unique microfilter device that can separate and capture cancer cells inexpensively and easily without the need for a large device.This microfilter can be dynamically and three-dimensionally deformed by the fluid force when sending blood, and uses a "diffusion aptamer" that specifically and firmly binds to the target molecule. Only a few cancer cells contained in it can be detected.

　According to the evaluation results of the cancer cell detection ability of the microfilter device, it was possible to detect even when only 1 cancer cells were mixed in 5 mL of blood.It was also confirmed that almost no blood cells were adsorbed on the microfilter (blood cell removal rate was 98% or more), and it was clarified that the microfilter had high selective detection ability.It was proved that this device can detect cancer cells with higher accuracy than the existing cancer detection device.

　This device is expected to contribute to the realization of new technology that enables early diagnosis of cancer that is not detected by imaging tests, postoperative follow-up, and recurrence monitoring with a blood test that only flows 1 mL of blood. NS.

Paper information:[Talanta] Detection of cancer cells in whole blood using a dynamic deformable microfilter and a nucleic acid acid aptamer