Efficient Purification and Release of Circulating Tumor Cells by Synergistic Effect of Biomarker and SiO2@Gel-Microbead-Based Size Difference Amplification

Microfluidics-based circulating tumor cell (CTC) isolation is achieved by using gelatin-coated silica microbeads conjugated to CTC-specific antibodies. Bead-binding selectively enlarges target cell size, providing efficient high-purity capture. CTCs captured can be further released non-invasively. This stratagem enables high-performance CTC isolation for subsequent studies.