METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRE-ENRICHMENT AND RECOVERY OF CELLS FROM DENSIFIED WHOLE BLOOD

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The present invention describes reagents, methods and apparatus for pre-processing of blood samples to obtain blood fractions containing substantially all target cells in reduced specimen volumes that are suitable for subsequent further enrichment. Sample processor systems are described for enriching cell populations having densities of less than approximately 1.09 g/ml from about 30 ml whole blood. Whole blood is combined with a cell compatible dense reagent to raise the density to about 1.09 g/ml. Centrifugation causes the target cells and most of the WBC in the buffy coat layer to accumulate at the top under a low-density buffer overlay. The reduced sample volumes are suitable for subsequent immunomagnetic or other enrichment methods prior to detection and enumeration. These processor systems, in conjunction with other enrichment procedures, facilitate detection of rare target cells, such as circulating tumor cells (CTC) that are useful markers in cancer diagnosis and monitoring of therapeutic response.