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Docket #: S07-132

MagSweeper: high purity capture of circulating tumor cells and other rare cells

An interdisciplinary team of Stanford researchers have developed MagSweeper, a patented robotic liquid biopsy device that efficiently isolates and purifies live CTCs (circulating tumor cells) from blood while removing 100% of contaminating blood cells. Downstream analysis of these cells can then be used to characterize the gene expression of metastases without an invasive biopsy. This device captures CTCs or other rare cells from a liquid sample using magnetic rods covered with removable plastic sleeves. These sleeves enable multiple capture and release cycles thereby assuring high purity and capture efficiency. For example, CTCs in patient blood samples (approximately 0-10 CTCs per 7.5cc tube) can be isolated with about 100% purity and 60% capture efficiency. In addition to capturing CTCs, MagSweeper could be used to isolate fetal stem cells or immune cells from fluid or tissue suspension samples.

Stage of Research
The inventors have demonstrated the utility of MagSweeper for isolating live CTCs from patient blood samples using the cancer-specific EpCAM protein as a biomarker. In that study, downstream analysis revealed the genetic diversity of CTCs.

Applications

  • Rare cell capture - magnetic isolation of live cells with end-user applications such as:
    • liquid biopsy of CTCs from blood samples
    • fetal stem cell capture from cord blood
    • immune cell isolation from blood or tissue

Advantages

  • Efficient capture - MagSweeper has approximately 60% capture efficiency for CTC cells (0-10 cells per 7.5cc tube)
  • High purity:
    • approximately 100% pure target cells without blood cell contamination
    • number and stringency of washes can be controlled to ensure complete clearance of contamination
  • Live cells - captured cells are viable with intact RNA for downstream expression studies

Publications

External Publications Using MagSweeper

FROM HARVARD/MIT/BROAD/DANA-FARBER

Whole-exome sequencing of circulating tumor cells provides a window into metastatic prostate cancer. Lohr JG, Adalsteinsson VA, Cibulskis K, Choudhury AD, Rosenberg M, Cruz-Gordillo P, Francis JM, Zhang CZ, Shalek AK, Satija R, Trombetta JJ, Lu D, Tallapragada N, Tahirova N, Kim S, Blumenstiel B, Sougnez C, Lowe A, Wong B, Auclair D, Van Allen EM, Nakabayashi M, Lis RT, Lee GS, Li T, Chabot MS, Ly A, Taplin ME, Clancy TE, Loda M, Regev A, Meyerson M, Hahn WC, Kantoff PW, Golub TR, Getz G, Boehm JS, Love JC. Nat Biotechnol. 2014 May;32(5):479-84. doi: 10.1038/nbt.2892. Epub 2014 Apr 20. PMID: 24752078

FROM LUDWIG INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RESEARCH AND KAROLINSKA INSTITUTE, Stockholm, Sweden

Full-length mRNA-Seq from single-cell levels of RNA and individual circulating tumor cells. Ramsköld D, Luo S, Wang YC, Li R, Deng Q, Faridani OR, Daniels GA, Khrebtukova I, Loring JF, Laurent LC, Schroth GP, Sandberg R.
Nat Biotechnol. 2012 Aug;30(8):777-82. PMID: 22820318

FROM SAMSUNG MEDICAL CENTER, SUNGKYUNKWAN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA

Transcriptome analysis of CD133-positive stem cells and prognostic value of survivin in colorectal cancer. Kim ST, Sohn I, DO IG, Jang J, Kim SH, Jung IH, Park JO, Park YS, Talasaz A, Lee J, Kim HC. Cancer Genomics Proteomics. 2014 Sep-Oct;11(5):259-66. PMID: 25331798

TECHNICAL NOTE FROM SILICON BIOSYSTEMS - MAGSWEEPER AND DEP ARRAY

http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/304284/file-315922036-pdf/Doc/Isolation_of_Tumor_Cells_after_Immunomagnetic_Enri.pdf?t=1462530328123

Patents

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