Phage-Based Profiling of Rare Single Cells Using Nanoparticle-Directed Capture

To extend the applicability of our approach, we tested a more extensively multiplexed pool of phages which contained ~50 clones with each phage equally distributed across the pool. Most of the factors tested are associated with cancer progression. Here we demonstrate an integrated microfluidic chip that uses magnetic nanoparticles to capture single tumor cells with high efficiency, permits on-chip incubation and facilitates in situ cell-surface protein expression analysis. Combined with phage-based barcoding and next-generation sequencing technology, we were able to monitor changes in the expression of multiple surface markers stimulated in response to CTC adherence.