Development of Microfluidic-Based Cell Collection Devices for in Vitro and in Vivo Use

The NANIVID - or Nano Intravital Device - is an implantable delivery tool designed to locally affect the tumor microenvironment in vivo. This technology is being redesigned and validated as a cell collection tool for the study of metastatic cancer cells. A methodology has been developed to facilitate this transition, consisting of microfluidic analysis of the device microchannels and a series of cell-related collection experiments building up to in vivo collection. Single-chamber designs were first used to qualitatively demonstrate the feasibility of cell collection ex vivo. This was followed by the development and implementation of devices containing a second, negative-control chamber for quantitative analysis. This work sets the foundation for in vivo cancer cell migration studies utilizing the NANIVID.