Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are tumor cells detached from the original lesion and getting into the blood and lymphatic circulation systems. They potentially establish new tumors in remote areas, namely, metastasis. Isolation of CTCs and following biological molecular analysis facilitate investigating cancer and coming out treatment. Since CTCs carry important information on the primary tumor, they are vital in exploring the mechanism of cancer, metastasis, and diagnosis. However, CTCs are very difficult to separate due to their extreme heterogeneity and rarity in blood. Recently, advanced technologies, such as nanosurfaces, quantum dots, and Raman spectroscopy, have been integrated with microfluidic chips. These achievements enable the next generation isolation technologies and subsequent biological analysis of CTCs. In this review, we summarize CTCs’ separation with microfluidic chips based on the principle of immunomagnetic isolation of CTCs. Fundamental insights, clinical applications, and potential future directions are discussed.

中文翻译：

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微流控芯片免疫磁分离循环肿瘤细胞及其临床应用。

循环肿瘤细胞 (CTC) 是从原始病变脱离并进入血液和淋巴循环系统的肿瘤细胞。它们有可能在偏远地区建立新的肿瘤，即转移。CTC 的分离和随后的生物分子分析有助于研究癌症和进行治疗。由于 CTC 携带有关原发肿瘤的重要信息，因此它们对于探索癌症、转移和诊断的机制至关重要。然而，由于 CTC 在血液中的极端异质性和稀有性，它们很难分离。最近，纳米表面、量子点和拉曼光谱等先进技术已与微流控芯片集成。这些成就使下一代分离技术和随后的 CTC 生物分析成为可能。在这次审查中，我们总结了基于 CTC 免疫磁性分离原理的微流控芯片分离 CTC。讨论了基本见解、临床应用和潜在的未来方向。