Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) represent critical biomarkers for liquid biopsy, and their efficient capture and accurate detection hold profound clinical significance for early cancer diagnosis, real-time monitoring of metastasis, and the implementation of personalized therapeutic strategies. As an advanced functional material, hydrogels offer distinctive advantages for CTC capture: their three-dimensional porous architecture facilitates deep cell infiltration and effective physical entrapment; their exceptional biocompatibility preserves CTC viability and functionality; and their tunable physicochemical properties combined with versatile functionalization modalities enable highly specific, affinity-driven targeting. Furthermore, integration of hydrogels with optical or electrochemical transducers allows the development of unified, multifunctional platforms capable of sequential CTC capture, in-situ detection, controlled release, and downstream analysis. This review comprehensively summarizes recent advances in hydrogel-based CTC capture and detection technologies, critically examines key challenges currently impeding clinical translation, and finally outlines future research directions. Synergistic multifunctional integration, stimuli-responsive behavior, standardized and scalable fabrication protocols, and rigorous clinical validation will constitute pivotal pathways toward realizing the practical clinical utility of hydrogel-based CTC capture and detection technologies.
Wang et al. (Wed,) studied this question.