Calcium-Alginate Microbeads as Cell Deformability Sensors

Promising cancer detection is critical for selection of effective cancer treatment. Traditional techniques for cancer diagnosis are generally complex and inaccurate. There are studies reporting that mechanical properties of cells can be biomarkers, offering an effective way to detect cancer at a single cell level. Existing techniques for distinguishing cancer cells through elasticity are typically limited to non-institutive and low throughput. In this work, elastic-modulated calcium-alginate microbeads are developed as cell elastic sensors for distinguishing cancer cells from normal cells using microfluidic devices. The classification of nasopharyngeal epithelial cells (NP460) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells (NPC43) was achieved through comparisons of penetration lengths of cells and microbeads with similar sizes in the confining channels. Microbeads functions as a reference elasticity marker to differentiate harder and softer cells. In short, our technique can provide a simplified approach for cancer cell classification. After further optimizing and refining the microbeads, it can be compatible with clinical diagnosis applications.