Selective capture of circulating tumor cells by antifouling nanostructure substrate made of hydrogel nanoparticles

[Display omitted] •An antifouling nanostructure substrate was made of hydrogel nanoparticles.•The hydrogel nanoparticles were prepared through a simple polymerization.•Zwitterionic sulfobetaine methacrylate provides an effective antifouling layer.•CTCs in blood samples of different patients were successfully detected. The detection and analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from cancer patients' blood samples present a powerful means to monitor cancer progression. In this work, an antifouling nanostructure substrate made of hydrogel nanoparticles was fabricated for an effective capture of CTCs from the blood samples. The hydrogel nanoparticles were synthesized by zwitterionic sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA), methacrylic acid (MAA) and N, N’-methylene bisacrylamide (MBA) through a simple polymerization. SBMA could provide an effective antifouling layer for the substrate to prevent nonspecific cell adhesion, MAA could afford active carboxyl groups for the immobilization of antibody to achieve specific CTC capture, and the nanostructured surface could improve the interaction of the target cells with the antibody modified substrate surface to enhance the capture efficiency of CTCs. Moreover, it was not necessary to further modify the antifouling molecules on the hydrogel nanoparticle substrate's surface, reducing the complexity and difficulty of the substrate preparation. The results showed that about 87 % of target cells (MCF-7 cells) were captured on the antibody modified hydrogel nanoparticle substrate. In contrast, the substrate showed little adhesive capacity for the nonspecific cells (K562 cells), and only 0.15 % of cells were captured. And 98 % of the captured cells kept good cell viability. Finally, 1–32 CTCs/mL were detected from the blood samples of five cancer patients, while no CTC was found in five healthy samples. It is envisaged that the new hydrogel nanostructure substrate is capable of capturing CTCs efficiently and specifically from patient blood samples to be used in cancer treatment.