Magnesium-embedded live cell filter for CTC isolation

This paper reports a novel Magnesium-embedded cell filter for Circulating Tumor Cell (CTC) capture, release and isolation. The new and novel feature is the use of thin-film Mg to release the captured CTCs based on the fact that any Cl^- containing culture medium can readily etch Mg away [1]. The releasing and the isolation of each individual CTC are demonstrated here. After filtration process, the filter is submerged in PBS to facilitate Mg etching. The top PA-C filter pieces break apart from the bottom after Mg completely dissolves, enabling captured CTC cells to detach from the filter. The released CTC can then be easily aspirated into a micropipette, and then for further, such as, DNA mutation analysis.