A microfluidic platform for functional testing of cancer drugs on intact tumor slices

A. D. Rodriguez, L. F. Horowitz, K. Castro, H. Kenerson, N. Bhattacharjee, G. Gandhe, A. Raman, R. J. Monnat, R. Yeung, R. C. Rostomily, A. Folch

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

53 Scopus citations

Abstract

Present approaches to assess cancer treatments are often inaccurate, costly, and/or cumbersome. Functional testing platforms that use live tumor cells are a promising tool both for drug development and for identifying the optimal therapy for a given patient,i.e.precision oncology. However, current methods that utilize patient-derived cells from dissociated tissue typically lack the microenvironment of the tumor tissue and/or cannot inform on a timescale rapid enough to guide decisions for patient-specific therapy. We have developed a microfluidic platform that allows for multiplexed drug testing of intact tumor slices cultured on a porous membrane. The device is digitally-manufactured in a biocompatible thermoplastic by laser-cutting and solvent bonding. Here we describe the fabrication process in detail, we characterize the fluidic performance of the device, and demonstrate on-device drug-response testing with tumor slices from xenografts and from a patient colorectal tumor.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1658-1675
Number of pages18
JournalLab on a Chip
Volume20
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - May 7 2020

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Bioengineering
  • Biochemistry
  • Chemistry(all)
  • Biomedical Engineering

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