Improved experimental and computational approaches for the design of CTC-capturing medical devices

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Cancer Research UK's statistics suggest that individuals have over 40% likelihood of suffering from cancer during their life. Most forms of cancer are characterised by excessive proliferation of cells in solid tumours, which often shed cancer cells into the patient's bloodstream to other secondary locations (metastasis cascade). These cells, known as Circulating Tumour Cells (CTCs), are scarce (a single cell in 109 cells) and difficult to isolate. Meanwhile, CTCs can be an excellent source of diagnostic information because they contain information on the type of disease, which helps decide on targeted drug therapies and treatment monitoring. Additionally, their presence and quantity are indicative of patient prognosis. The development of chemical-free, fast, and efficient methodologies for isolating viable CTCs, without losing their biological characteristics is critical for next-generation point-of-care analyses of cancer. In the physics-based isolation devices, in addition to the geometrical characteristics of the cells (i.e. cells size) and the fluidic devices (i.e. the size of constrictions), the cellular mechanical properties such as stiffness, degree of compressibility, viscoelasticity and adhesiveness may also influence the separation efficiency. Motivated by the gap in knowledge and the impact on patient care, the main aim of this PhD research project is to investigate the role of cell bio-mechanical properties in cellular interactions with fluid flow and complex geometries. This will be achieved by characterising the flow in isolating medical devices using computer simulations and validation by experimental techniques. The proposed scientific analysis will enhance the current medical technology through optimum design and operating conditions. In summary, the core focus of this PhD research project, which falls under the medical technology field, is to develop improved experimental and computational approaches for the design of CTC-capturing medical devices.