Isolation of prostate cancer cell subpopulations of functional interest by use of an on-chip magnetic bead-based cell separator

This work presents the design, fabrication and characterization of a modular magnetic bead-based cell separation device developed for the sequential sorting of a heterogeneous prostate cancer (CaP) cell population. The chief aim is cell sorting carried out on the basis of surface marker expression, serially selecting cellular subpopulations for capture by the use of antibody-coated magnetic beads. The markers of interest, prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) and CD10 were selected for their relevance to ongoing CaP development research. The separation device was fabricated out of plastic, by the use of cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) injection molding, nickel-iron electroplating and thermoplastic fusion bonding. Effective depletion and enrichment of cell subsets based on multiple surface markers was achieved. Various flow rates and incubation times were tested for optimizing the sorting procedure.