Genetic
characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) could
guide the choice of therapies for individual patients and also facilitate
the development of new drugs. We previously developed a CTC recovery
system using a microcavity array, which demonstrated highly efficient
CTC recovery based on differences in cell size and deformability.
However, the CTC recovery system lacked an efficient cell manipulation
tool suitable for subsequent genetic analysis. Here, we resolve this
issue and present a simple and rapid manipulation method for single
CTCs using a photopolymerized hydrogel, polyethylene glycol diacrylate
(PEGDA), which is useful for subsequent genetic analysis. First, PEGDA
was introduced into the cells entrapped on the microcavity array.
Then, excitation light was projected onto the target single cells
for encapsulation of each CTC by confocal laser-scanning microscopy.
The encapsulated single CTCs could be visualized by the naked eye
and easily handled with tweezers. The single CTCs were only partially
encapsulated on the PEGDA hydrogel, which allowed for sufficient whole-genome
amplification and accurate genotyping. Our proposed methodology is
a valuable tool for the rapid and simple manipulation of single CTCs
and is expected to become widely utilized for analyses of mammalian
cells and microorganisms in addition to CTCs
