Label-free selection and enrichment of liver cancer stem cells by surface niches build up with polyelectrolyte multilayer films

Recent studies indicate that a small population of cancer cells exhibits stem cell properties and are referred to as cancer-initiating or cancer stem cells (CSCs). The selection and identification of cancer stem cells through methods require well-defined biomarkers and immunolabeling procedures are complicated and often unreliable. Herein, we fabricated a series of microenviroment by using polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEM) nanofilms to program and mimic hepatocellular carcinoma CSCs niches for CSCs selection with a label-free method. When cultured on PEM substrates, human cancer cell lines-Huh7 cells grew into individual round colonies and these cells displayed high marker expression of CSCs. Especially, these selected cells demonstrated significant chemo-resistant property in comparison with normal population. Therefore, we believed that niches selection and colony formation method may provide a new strategy on CSCs selection and drug evaluation for cancer therapy.