Microfluidic platform with integrated electrical actuator to enrich and locating atypical/cancer cells from liquid cytology samples

Abstract A microfluidic electrical actuator in the form of a cytological slide has been developed to separate and relocate atypical/cancer cells of liquid cytology samples (such as fine needle aspiration, uterine cervical smear and bone marrow aspiration) in a limited space for fast and precise pathological evaluation. The mechanism of this system named smart cytological slide (SCS) was based on the tendency of atypical/neoplastic cells, which have significant negative membrane charges, to positive pole region of direct electric field applied by the patterned gold microelectrodes of the actuator. Results of SCS on cytological samples of 70 patients showed better separating profile with much greater efficacy and selectivity than conventional cytological slides (CCS). Moreover, SCS detected the false negative responses of CCS in 5% of the samples while we used from the residues of the samples in SCS tests.