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A titanium dioxide nanorod array as a high-affinity nano-bio interface of a microfluidic device for efficient capture of circulating tumor cells

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Abstract

Nanomaterials show promising opportunities to address clinical problems (such as insufficient capture of circulating tumor cells; CTCs) via the high surface area-to-volume ratio and high affinity for biological cells. However, how to apply these nanomaterials as a nano-bio interface in a microfluidic device for efficient CTC capture with high specificity remains a challenge. In the present work, we first found that a titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanorod array that can be conveniently prepared on multiple kinds of substrates has high affinity for tumor cells. Then, the TiO2 nanorod array was vertically grown on the surface of a microchannel with hexagonally patterned Si micropillars via a hydrothermal reaction, forming a new kind of a micro-nano 3D hierarchically structured microfluidic device. The vertically grown TiO2 nanorod array was used as a sensitive nano-bio interface of this 3D hierarchically structured microfluidic device, which showed high efficiency of CTC capture (76.7% ± 7.1%) in an artificial whole-blood sample.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful for funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51402063, 51432005, 61405040, 61505010, 51502018, 31270022, and 81471784), the “100 Talents Program” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing City Committee of science and technology (No. Z151100003315010), Beijing Natural Science Foundation (Nos. 2164077 and 2164076), the Fundamental Research Funds of Shandong University (No. 2014QY003), and the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. 2015023). The authors also acknowledge the support from the “thousands talents” program for pioneer researchers and his innovation team, and support from the President Funding of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences; National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST), Beijing, 100083, China

    Jichuan Qiu, Kun Zhao, Linlin Li, Xin Yu, Weibo Guo, Shu Wang, Xiaodi Zhang, Caofeng Pan & Zhong Lin Wang

  2. Bio-Micro-Nano Functional Materials Center, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, China

    Jichuan Qiu & Hong Liu

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  1. Jichuan Qiu
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  2. Kun Zhao
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  3. Linlin Li
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  4. Xin Yu
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  5. Weibo Guo
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  6. Shu Wang
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  7. Xiaodi Zhang
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  8. Caofeng Pan
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  9. Zhong Lin Wang
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  10. Hong Liu
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Correspondence to Caofeng Pan, Zhong Lin Wang or Hong Liu.

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A titanium dioxide nanorod array as a high-affinity nano-bio interface of a microfluidic device for efficient capture of circulating tumor cells

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Qiu, J., Zhao, K., Li, L. et al. A titanium dioxide nanorod array as a high-affinity nano-bio interface of a microfluidic device for efficient capture of circulating tumor cells. Nano Res. 10, 776–784 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-016-1313-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-016-1313-5

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