Viscoelastic Deformability Cytometry: Ultra-high Throughput Platform for Mechanical Phenotyping of Cells in Liquid and Solid Biopsies

Due to the differences in mechanical properties between cancer cells and their benign counterparts, the mechanical characteristics of cells have emerged as a significant feature in diagnosing cancer. Consequently, measuring cell deformability as a means of mechanical phenotyping is promising for both the detection and classification of the disease. However, performing high-throughput single-cell deformability measurements on liquid or solid tissue biopsies remains a significant challenge within a clinical setting. Herein, we introduce an ultra-high throughput viscoelastic-based microfluidic platform to measure the cell mechanical properties at rates of up to 100,000 cells/s. Thanks to the viscoelastic property of the fluid, cells are focused and deformed within the same platform obviating the need for any sheath fluid. We used the presented platform for cell phenotyping in both liquid and solid tumor biopsies, such as identification of malignant lymphocytes in peripheral blood samples and glioblastoma-type cell classification from solid tumor samples. The presented platform has the potential to open new opportunities in the assessment of cancer, enable precise mechanical profiling of rare cells, and facilitate sensitive diagnostic applications.