Abstract
A low-cost and rapid microfluidic cell sorter (μFCS) for circulating tumor cell (CTC) detection, culture and analyses is developed. Based on size separation and molecular characterization, μFCS efficiently enriches CTCs from unprocessed whole blood, allows on-chip culture and molecular profiling, and provides cell retrieval for subsequent analyses. The potential clinical application of the technology is demonstrated by capturing and genetically analyzing CTCs in tumor-bearing mice.