Optical Detection of Cancer Cells Using Lab-on-a-Chip

Biosensors (Basel). 2023 Mar 30;13(4):439. doi: 10.3390/bios13040439.

Abstract

The global need for accurate and efficient cancer cell detection in biomedicine and clinical diagnosis has driven extensive research and technological development in the field. Precision, high-throughput, non-invasive separation, detection, and classification of individual cells are critical requirements for successful technology. Lab-on-a-chip devices offer enormous potential for solving biological and medical problems and have become a priority research area for microanalysis and manipulating cells. This paper reviews recent developments in the detection of cancer cells using the microfluidics-based lab-on-a-chip method, focusing on describing and explaining techniques that use optical phenomena and a plethora of probes for sensing, amplification, and immobilization. The paper describes how optics are applied in each experimental method, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages. The discussion includes a summary of current challenges and prospects for cancer diagnosis.

Keywords: cancer; chemiluminescence; fluorescence; lab-on-a-chip; optical detection; surface plasmon resonance SPR; surface-enhanced Raman scattering SERS.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Biosensing Techniques* / methods
  • Lab-On-A-Chip Devices
  • Neoplasms* / diagnosis
  • Optical Phenomena
  • Optics and Photonics
  • Spectrum Analysis, Raman