Wong, Keith H. K.Tessier, ShannonMiyamoto, DavidMiller, Kathleen L.Bookstaver, Lauren D.Carey, Thomas R.Stannard, Cleo J.Thapar, VishalTai, Eric C.Vo, Kevin D.Emmons, Erin S.Pleskow, Haley M.Sandlin, RebeccaSequist, LeciaTing, DavidHaber, DanielMaheswaran, ShyamalaStott, ShannonToner, Mehmet2017-12-062017Wong, K. H. K., S. N. Tessier, D. T. Miyamoto, K. L. Miller, L. D. Bookstaver, T. R. Carey, C. J. Stannard, et al. 2017. “Whole blood stabilization for the microfluidic isolation and molecular characterization of circulating tumor cells.” Nature Communications 8 (1): 1733. doi:10.1038/s41467-017-01705-y. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-01705-y.http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:34493092Precise rare-cell technologies require the blood to be processed immediately or be stabilized with fixatives. Such restrictions limit the translation of circulating tumor cell (CTC)-based liquid biopsy assays that provide accurate molecular data in guiding clinical decisions. Here we describe a method to preserve whole blood in its minimally altered state by combining hypothermic preservation with targeted strategies that counter cooling-induced platelet activation. Using this method, whole blood preserved for up to 72 h can be readily processed for microfluidic sorting without compromising CTC yield and viability. The tumor cells retain high-quality intact RNA suitable for single-cell RT-qPCR as well as RNA-Seq, enabling the reliable detection of cancer-specific transcripts including the androgen-receptor splice variant 7 in a cohort of prostate cancer patients with an overall concordance of 92% between fresh and preserved blood. This work will serve as a springboard for the dissemination of diverse blood-based diagnostics.en-USJournal Article2017-12-0610.1038/s41467-017-01705-y