Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide and the death toll by cancer is feared to increase by 2030. In order to combat the deadly disease, early diagnosis is essential. The PI and associates propose a novel, hybrid microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip platform that utilizes Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) and Dielectrophoresis (DEP) for early detection/isolation and characterization of Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) from blood. The device will perform the separation irrespective of the size of the cancer cells, hence it not only isolates cancer cells from blood but can also differentiate a variety of cancer cells even if their sizes overlap. Mathematical/numerical models of the microdevice/cells will also be developed using a sophisticated particle-based technique called Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD). The DPD technique will also be utilized to characterize cancer/blood cells. Finally, the hybrid microfluidic device will be fabricated in the cleanroom to validate the model and perform experimentations.
