Abstract
The isolation of circulating tumor cells(CTCs)from complex biological samples is of paramount signifi-cance for advancing cancer diagnosis,prognosis,and treatment.However,the low concentration of CTCs and nonspecific adhesion of white blood cells(WBCs)present challenges that hinder the efficiency and purity of captured CTCs.Microfluidic-based strategies utilize precise fluid control at the micron level to incorporate specific micro/nanostructures or recognition molecules,enabling effective CTCs separation.Moreover,by employing surface modification designs that exhibit exceptional anti-adhesion properties against WBCs,the purity of isolated CTCs can be further enhanced.This review offers an in-depth explo-ration of recent advancements,challenges,and opportunities associated with microfluidic-based CTCs iso-lation from biological samples.Firstly,we will comprehensively introduce the microfluidic-based strate-gies for achieving high-efficiency CTCs isolation,which includes the morphological design of microchan-nels for physical force-based CTCs isolation and the specific modification of microchannel surfaces for affinity-based CTCs isolation.Subsequently,a review of recent research advances in microfluidic-based high-purity CTCs isolation is presented,focusing on strategies that decrease the nonspecific adhesion of WBCs through surface micro-/nanostructure construction or chemical and biological modification.Finally,we will summarize the article by providing the prospective opportunities and challenges for the future development of microfluidic-based CTCs isolation.