Single Cell Analysis of Inertial Migration by Circulating Tumor Cells and Clusters.

Single-cell analysis provides a wealth of information regarding the molecular landscape of the tumor cells responding to extracellular stimulations, which has greatly advanced the research in cancer biology. In this work, we adapt such a concept for the analysis of inertial migration of cells and clusters, which is promising for cancer liquid biopsy, by isolation and detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and CTC clusters. Using high-speed camera tracking live individual tumor cells and cell clusters, the behavior of inertial migration was profiled in unprecedented detail.