Progress on Application of Magnetic Particles in Biomedical Assays Including Detection of Circulating Tumor Cell and Virus, Extraction and Detection of Nucleic Acids

Magnetic beads (MB), composed of magnetic nanoparticles and biocompatible materials including cellulose, chitosan, silica and polystyrene, are ideal platforms for specific detection of cancer cells, virus and nucleic acids when loaded with antibodies, fluorescent and conjugation molecules. With the ease of separations using magnets, magnetic particles show tremendous advantages over other platforms and thus arising potentials in circulating tumor cell (CTC), virus (such as SARS-CoV-2) antibody and antigen detections, and nucleic acid extractions and purifications. In addition, when combined with microfluidic devices, magnetic particles can be used to develop detection platforms with high throughputs, as well as portable and point-of-care apparatus. In accompany with their huge potentials in all kinds of biomedical and clinical scenarios, magnetic particles based medical devices have been commercialized such as antigen test kits that have been commonly used during the pandemic. In this review, the progress in detailed antibody conjugation practice used in each application scenario based on MB platform was summarized and the commercialization of analytical devices combined with microfluidics and others was discussed.