Develop microchip for separation of tumor cells from blood

2010/12/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Teknologia
• Medikuntza

Ikerlan-IK4 and Mondragon Unibertsitatea have participated in the microchip project.

A project promoted by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) has developed a microchip capable of separating and extracting tumor cells in blood by ultrasonic waves. The project was attended by Ikerlan-IK4 and Mondragon Unibertsitatea, the General Hospital Foundation of the University of Elche and researcher Alfredo Carrato.

The microchip is used to detect metastases in early stages and control the effectiveness of therapies for patients with cancer. It is the size of a euro coins and has a small channel for the introduction of blood samples. Ultrasonic waves oriented to a certain area are used to accumulate and extract tumor cells from the blood. In fact, tumor cells have different density and size than other cells. On the other hand, the properties of cells do not vary and can subsequently be subjected to biomolecular studies or analysis.

The intention of the researchers is to develop in a later phase an industrial prototype that allows its use on a large scale. To do this, the team of researchers is already working on the development of a system of detection and automatic quantification of tumor cells and the improvement of the microchip.