(122c) Medical Applications of Microfluidics: From Blood Fractionation to Liquid Biopsy

The use of liquid biopsy for minimally invasive bioanalysis is revolutionizing healthcare, with particular promise in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Microfluidic devices based on inertial microfluidic approaches are receiving considerable attention for applications in liquid biopsy due to their label-free nature. However, the existing approaches to isolate, and analyze liquid biopsy samples are complex and deliver limited throughput, making them challenging to deploy as routinely-used tools. Further, many of these devices rely on sample dilution, which makes operation and deployment even more challenging. We are developing a microfluidic platform capable of label-free separation from unmodified whole blood samples to rapidly screen rare cell populations or fractionate blood cells. I will describe these efforts and provide a broader perspective on challenges and opportunities for microfluidic technologies in the areas of whole blood microfluidics for liquid biopsy and personalized medicine.