Phenotype independent capture of circulating tumor cell using magnetic platelet decoys.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are an essential biomarker for metastatic disease as they provide valuable information regarding the primary tumor, metastatic potential, potential prognosis, as well as aid in patient monitoring and guiding personalized therapy. Successful detection, isolation, and enumeration of CTCs remains a challenge due to their rarity in blood and biological heterogeneity. Though traditionally known for their roles in maintaining hemostasis and promoting wound healing, platelets significantly contribute to cancer metastasis by interacting with CTCs in the bloodstream. These interactions protect CTCs from shear stress and immune detection, facilitate their arrest in blood vessels, and ultimately promote metastatic spread to distant tissues. We describe a system that leverages platelet-cancer cell interactions to target and retrieve CTCs from a liquid biopsy sample by engineering magnetic platelet decoys. Conventional techniques typically rely on specific markers on the CTC surface (most commonly EpCAM). Our approach begins with engineering platelet decoys that lose their functional ability but retain some functional surface receptors that enable their ability to interact with other cells, followed by ION (iron oxide nanoparticle) loading which permits CTC capture