Extracellular vesicles (EVs) carry RNA, DNA, proteins, and lipids. Specifically, tumor-derived EVs have the potential to be utilized as disease-specific biomarkers. However, a lack of methods to isolate tumor-specific EVs has limited their use in clinical settings. Here we report a sensitive analytical microfluidic platform (^EVHB-Chip) that enables tumor-specific EV-RNA isolation within 3 h. Using the^EVHB-Chip, we achieve 94% tumor-EV specificity, a limit of detection of 100 EVs per μL, and a 10-fold increase in tumor RNA enrichment in comparison to other methods. Our approach allows for the subsequent release of captured tumor EVs, enabling downstream characterization and functional studies. Processing serum and plasma samples from glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients, we can detect the mutant EGFRvIII mRNA. Moreover, using next-generation RNA sequencing, we identify genes specific to GBM as well as transcripts that are hallmarks for the four genetic subtypes of the disease.

Physicochemical properties of nanoparticles, such as size, shape, surface charge, density, and porosity play a central role in biological interactions and hence accurate determination of these characteristics is of utmost importance. Here we propose tunable resistive pulse sensing for simultaneous size and surface charge measurements on a particle-by-particle basis, enabling the analysis of a wide spectrum of nanoparticles and their mixtures. Existing methodologies for measuring zeta potential of nanoparticles using resistive pulse sensing are significantly improved by including convection into the theoretical model. The efficacy of this methodology is demonstrated for a range of biological case studies, including measurements of mixed anionic, cationic liposomes, extracellular vesicles in plasma, and in situ time study of DNA immobilisation on the surface of magnetic nanoparticles. The high-resolution single particle size and zeta potential characterisation will provide a better understanding of nano-bio interactions, positively impacting nanomedicine development and their regulatory approval.

A layer‐by‐layer gelatin nanocoating is presented for use as a tunable, dual response biomaterial for the capture and release of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from cancer patient blood. The entire nanocoating can be dissolved from the surface of microfluidic devices through biologically compatible temperature shifts. Alternatively, individual CTCs can be released through locally applied mechanical stress.

A new CTC isolation approach uncovers special populations of platelet-coated CTCs and CTC-leukocyte clusters in cancer patients.

Neutrophil swarms protect healthy tissues by sealing off sites of infection. In the absence of swarming, microbial invasion of surrounding tissues can result in severe infections. Recent observations in animal models have shown that swarming requires rapid neutrophil responses and well-choreographed neutrophil migration patterns. However, in animal models, physical access to the molecular signals coordinating neutrophil activities during swarming is limited. Here, we report the development and validation of large microscale arrays of zymosan particle clusters for the study of human neutrophils during swarming ex vivo. We characterized the synchronized swarming of human neutrophils under the guidance of neutrophil-released chemokines, and measured the mediators released at different phases of human-neutrophil swarming against targets simulating infections. We found that the network of mediators coordinating human-neutrophil swarming includes start and stop signals, proteolytic enzymes and enzyme inhibitors, as well as modulators of activation of other immune and non-immune cells. We also show that the swarming behaviour of neutrophils from patients following major trauma is deficient and gives rise to smaller swarms than those of neutrophils from healthy individuals.