Table 1.
CTC Isolation Methods
| Isolation method | Platforms | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Density gradient33, 34 | Accucyte (RareCyte, Inc, Seattle, WA) OncoQuick (Greiner Bio-One, Monroe, NC) |
Relatively fast and inexpensive Independent of cellular antigens |
Low specificity |
| Electrophoresis35, 36, 37 | DEPArray (Menarini-Silicon Biosystems, Castel Maggiore, Italy) ApoStream (Precision for Medicine, Frederick, MD) |
Independent of cellular antigens | Pre-enrichment required High cell loss during sample preparation |
| Size-based38, 39, 40 | ISET (Rarecells Diagnostics, Paris France) ScreenCell (Westford, MA) CellSieve |
Relatively fast and inexpensive Captures CTC aggregates Independent of cellular antigens |
Small CTCs not captured Large leukocytes captured |
| Immunoaffinity41, 42, 43, 44, 45 | CellSearch MagSweeper (Stanford University, Stanford, CA) Isoflux (IsoFlux, Inc, Pittsford, NY) Microfluidic chips |
FDA approved (CellSearch) Some platforms are semi-automated Good reproducibility |
Cost Specialized equipment required Dependent on cellular antigens |
FDA, Food and Drug Administration; ISET, isolation-by-size of epithelial tumor cells.