Non-invasive technology for high-throughput characterization of cancer cells

Effective monitoring of cancer cells can help doctors in their treatment and management, thereby reducing cancer-related mortality. Can non-invasive technologies pave the way for better surveillance to reduce cancer death rates? Diagnostic platforms that non-invasively measure the electrical properties of cancer cells hold promise for early detection of anticancer drug resistance and metastasis.

Research has shown that it is possible to understand a cancer type and its drug resistance status from cellular permittivity and conductivity data. In fact, there is a growing demand for analytical methods that can quickly measure the electrical properties of a cell.

Electrorotation (OTR) offers such a route to capture cellular properties by inferring the permittivity and conductivity of a cell’s movement in an electric field. This allows characterization of the cell type and state by profiling its frequency-dependent rotational motion under a modulated electric field.

However, there are limits. The challenge is that capturing, measuring, and replacing cells is quite tedious and reduces the throughput of ROT platforms, where throughput refers to the number of cells a given technology can analyze at a given time.

Recently, researchers at Tokyo University of Science (TUS) developed continuous flow ROT (cROT) to overcome the drawbacks of conventional ROT. The new platform leverages microfluidics to continuously measure cellular dynamics and simultaneously capture cells to collect measurements on a single device. The group’s validated results were recently published in Lab on a chip.

“I discovered that cancer cells had very different responses to electric fields even though they looked the same. This implied a certain degree of individuality, and the idea of ​​discerning the differences using ROT intrigued me” , explains Dr. Masahiro Motosuke, professor in the department. in mechanical engineering at TUS and principal investigator of the project. “However, collecting precise data using ROT requires the precise placement and removal of a single cell, and I wanted to make the process of analyzing many cells easier.”

The researchers fabricated the new device with redesigned interdigitating electrodes that induce cell rotation and a microchannel for cell passage. The electrode geometry increases the number of cells that can be analyzed and reduces the time required to replace a cell as measurements are collected.

The electric field applied within the microchannel makes it possible to analyze the rotational behavior of a continuous flow of cells. Together, these improvements increase the throughput of the automated system. The research team validated the accuracy of the system by obtaining measurements of cell membrane permittivity and cytoplasmic conductivity from HeLa cells, a human cell line commonly used in research.

“We have significantly increased the measurement throughput to 2,700 cells per hour using our cROT technique,” ​​explains Professor Motosuke of the report’s most important findings. “In addition, the device does not require precise cell manipulation and benefits from rapid image processing when processing electrical data from the cells,” he adds. Other advantages of the new system are its high degree of automation and ease of installation or removal.

The cROT device indeed demonstrates a remarkable improvement in throughput compared to traditional ROT platforms. While conventional ROT techniques typically process 10 to 20 cells per hour, the cROT system achieves an impressive throughput of 2,700 cells per hour, more than 100 times higher. Additionally, the cROT system significantly minimizes the time required for cell replacement.

Professor Motosuke sees a promising future for the cROT system developed by the team. “Through our cROT technique, we have unlocked the ability to delve deeper into the intricacies of single-cell dynamics, including aspects such as cell physiology, cell membrane state, and intracellular ion concentration,” says- he.

He anticipates that the rapid and precise analyzes offered by this cutting-edge approach will be a catalyst for substantial progress in the areas of cancer drug development, diagnostics and new cellular therapies. This revolutionary technology opens the door to collaboration and adoption by leading players in the oncology industry, potentially revolutionizing the way we fight cancer.