Micro-Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy and Identification of Patient-Derived, Dissociated Tumor Cells

Fine needle aspirate sampling of tumors requires acquisition of sufficient cells to complete a diagnosis. Aspirates through such fine needles are typically composed of small cell clusters in suspension, making them readily amenable to microfluidic analysis. Here we show a microfluidic device with integrated electrodes capable of interrogating and identifying cellular components in a patient-derived sample of dissociated tumor cells using micro-electrical impedance spectroscopy (μEIS). We show that the μEIS system can distinguish dissociated tumor cells in a sample consisting of red blood cell (RBCs) and peripheral blood mononucleated cells (PBMCs). Our μEIS system can also distinguish dissociated tumor cells from normal cells and we show results for five major cancer types, specifically, lung, thyroid, breast, ovarian, and kidney cancer. Moreover, our μEIS system can make these distinctions in a label-free manner, thereby opening the possibility of integration into standard clinical workflows at the point of care.