# Biomimetic Membrane Interface Technologies for Detection and Isolation of CTCs and EVs: Advances and Opportunities in Liquid Biopsy

## TL;DR

This review discusses how biomimetic membranes can be used to detect and isolate cancer-related cells and vesicles in liquid biopsies, offering improved accuracy and efficiency.

## Contribution

The paper introduces advances in biomimetic membrane technologies for liquid biopsy, emphasizing their potential to reduce interference and enable dual target capture and analysis.

## Key findings

- Biomimetic membranes reduce non-specific binding and enhance target interaction for CTC and EV isolation.
- Membrane fusion mechanisms allow for the detection of EV-derived contents like miRNA and mRNA.
- Challenges include complex preparation and stability issues that need to be addressed for broader application.

## Abstract

Biomimetic membrane interface engineering constructs functionalized detection platforms by incorporating natural cell membranes, synthetic lipids, or hybrid membranes. The primary purpose of this strategy is to minimize background interference while leveraging intrinsic membrane properties for effective target interaction. Applications are diverse, ranging from the high‐purity separation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) to the efficient isolation of extracellular vesicles (EVs), as well as the subsequent detection of EV‐derived contents (e.g., miRNA, protein, and mRNA) via membrane fusion mechanisms. Conceptually, this approach serves as a robust bridge between synthetic materials and biological systems. Its major advantages lie in the significant reduction of non‐specific binding and the unique capability to facilitate both target capture and internal cargo analysis. However, challenges such as complex preparation processes, stability issues, and the dependence on functional modifications to address significant tumor heterogeneity remain to be resolved. This review summarizes recent progress, analyzes these critical issues, and outlines future directions.

Biomimetic membrane interface engineering constructs functionalized detection platforms by integrating natural cell membranes, synthetic lipids, or hybrid membranes. This strategy effectively reduces background interference and enables efficient target capture and analysis, showing broad applications in circulating tumor cell separation, extracellular vesicle enrichment, and cargo detection. This review summarizes recent advances, analyzes key challenges, and outlines future directions. (The illustration was generated using BioRender under a licensed subscription (Agreement number: UH295PE7TJ)).