SAN DIEGO, May 20 /PRNewswire/ — Biocept, Inc.
(“Biocept”), an emerging leader in rare cell capture, announced
today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent
for Biocept’s cell separation technology using a microfluidic
device. U.S. patent #7,695,956 entitled “Device for Cell Separation
and Analysis and Method of Using” protects Biocept’s microflow
device to isolate cells from a bodily fluid using a flow path where
straight-line flow is interrupted by transverse posts arranged in a
random pattern. Sequestering agents, such as antibodies, are used
to immobilize the cells in the cavity of the device. Cells can then
be analyzed inside the microchannel using morphological,
immunohistochemical, or fluorescent in situ hybridization
(FISH) tests, or the cells can be released from the channel for
molecular analysis following extraction of DNA.
“This patent establishes Biocept’s leadership position in using
a microfluidic device to capture and analyze rare cells for
prenatal or cancer applications,” said Stephen M. Coutts, President and CEO of
Biocept. “We are using this invention to develop innovative
proprietary tests in which we capture and analyze circulating tumor
cells from a blood sample from cancer patients. These circulating
tumor cells provide genetic information about the patient’s disease
and can potentially guide the clinicians in making therapeutic
choices to maximize patient response. We look forward to bringing
this technology through to commercialization and making
personalized medicine a reality for cancer patients and their
families.”
About Biocept
Biocept, whose focus is in cell separation technology, develops
novel diagnostic assays for personalized medicine in detection and
monitoring of recurrent cancer. Biocept’s
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