Okju Kim^a, Daewon Lee^b,c, Amos Chungwon Lee^b, Yongju Lee^a, Hyung Jong Bae^d, Han-Byoel Lee^e, Ryong Nam Kim^e,f,g, Wonshik Han^e,g, and Sunghoon Kwon^a,f,h,i,*

^aDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Institute of Engineering Research, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
^bInterdisciplinary Program in Bioengineering, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
^cBK21+ Creative Research Engineer Development for IT, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
^dNano Systems Institute, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
^eDepartment of Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
^fBiomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
^gCancer Research Institute, Seoul National University, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
^hInstitutes of Entrepreneurial BioConvergence, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
ⁱInter-University Semiconductor Research Center, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea

O.K., D.L., and A.C.L. contributed to this work equally.

^*To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Single cell analysis of heterogeneous circulating tumor cells (CTCs), by which the genomic profiles of rare single CTCs are connected to the clinical status of cancer patients, is crucial for understanding cancer metastasis and the clinical impact on patients. However, the heterogeneity in genotypes and phenotypes and rarity of CTCs have limited extensive single CTC genome research, further hindering clinical investigation. Despite recent efforts to build platforms that separate CTCs, the investigation on CTCs is difficult due to the lack of a retrieval process at the single cell level. In this study, laser‐induced isolation of microstructures on an optomechanically‐transferrable‐chip and sequencing (LIMO‐seq) is applied for whole genome sequencing of single CTCs. Also, the whole genome sequences and the molecular profiles of the isolated single cells from the whole blood of a breast cancer patient are analyzed.

Keywords : circulating tumor cells, genomics, laser ablation, next generation sequencing, single cell