High Capture Efficiency Research Articles

Biomimetic Fibrous Leaf-Vein Membrane Enabling Unidirectional Water Penetration and Effective Antibacterial PM Filtration

Air pollution induced by pathogenic particulate matter (PM) has posed a serious threat to public health worldwide. Advanced air filters are thus required, not only exhibiting high PM capture efficiency, low breathing resistance, and high internal moisture transferring performance but also isolating and inactivating external pathogenic aerosols. In this study, we demonstrated a facile approach to construct a biomimetic fibrous leaf-vein membrane with unidirectional water penetration and effective antibacterial PM filtration by one-step electrospinning of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-based multilayer nanofibers. With ultrathin fibers penetrating the skeletal framework of bimodal thick fibers, the membranes showed gradient interconnected porous structures and achieved a highly efficient and stable (in an acid and alkali environment) PM0.3 interception (>99.98%) with low air drag (51-71 Pa). In addition, the gradient narrow pores of the membranes contributed to a gradient higher hydrophilicity. The subsequent unidirectional water motion effectively isolates pathogenic aerosols typically generated by external individuals or ultrafast water penetration from the inverse face. Moreover, the membranes demonstrated an antibacterial efficacy (>99.99%) in a 5 min contact, inactivating the intercepted airborne pathogens efficiently. The test results proved that the proposed membranes were promising advanced air filters for respirator applications.

Cover Feature: Surfactant‐Free and Microporous AlOOH/Al2O3 Nanosheets on TiO2‐Based Nanofibers: A Sustained‐Release Dominated Topotactic Transformation (ChemNanoMat 8/2022)

TiO2-based nanofibers decorated with ultrathin and microporous AlOOH/Al2O3 nanosheets showed high dye capture efficiency and photodegradation capability, furthering green chemistry and low-carbon economy goals. More information can be found in the Research Article by Yunqian Dai et al.

Direct and continuous conversion of flue gas CO2 into green fuels using dual function materials in a circulating fluidized bed system

Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies, such as CO2 methanation, generally require energy-intensive CO2 capture and separation processes prior to catalytic CO2 conversion. In contrast, integrated CO2 capture and reduction (CCR) technologies that use dual function materials (DFM) can directly convert low-concentration CO2 in flue gas or atmosphere into high-concentration CH4 or CO. In this study, we demonstrate a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) approach to enable continuous operation of CCR. In the CFB approach, the DFM (Na/Ni/Al2O3) circulates between two bubbling fluidized beds to enable steady-state cyclic operation of (1) selective capture of CO2 in flue gas/air and (2) hydrogenation of the captured CO2. We succeeded in the continuous synthesis of CH4 with high CO2 capture efficiency (>88 %) and high H2 conversion (>85 %) yielding mainly CH4 (selectivity > 99 %) as the product at high concentration (>20 % CH4) using 2 % CO2/N2 as the model flue gas.

Self‐Propelled Catalytically Powered Dual‐Engine Magnetic Nanobots for Rapid and Highly Efficient Capture of Circulating Fetal Trophoblasts

AbstractHere, chemically powered and magnetically guided janus magneto‐fluorescent dual‐engine nanobots (MFDEN) that harvest their energy from the reactions with two different fuels are reported. The Mg‐Fe3O4 Janus nanobots prepared by depositing Fe3O4 hemispherical layer on Mg nanoparticles are propelled efficiently by the thrust of oxygen bubble generated from the reactions of Fe3O4 in H2O2 media, and by hydrogen bubble produced at the partial Mg opening in aqueous media. High speeds and long lifetimes are achieved in complex biological media with H2O2 or with NaHCO3, respectively. For the first time, this study demonstrates the utility of nanobots for efficient isolation of trophoblastic cells from blood. Considering the extreme rarity of these cells in blood, efficient technique that enriches sufficient cells rapidly and with specificity is desired. The nanobots exhibit excellent capture efficiency of almost 100%, both in serum and whole blood for trophoblastic Be‐Wo cells. Furthermore, the high capture efficiency is achieved in 5 min. Feasibility of obtaining an isolated cell based diagnosis from whole blood is demonstrated. Although determining the exact sensitivity and specificity will require more data, this study supports the potential of the multiple fuel‐powered nanorobots for clinical translation of circulating fetal cell based non‐invasive prenatal testing.

Rapid-Response Magnetic Enrichment Strategy for Significantly Improving Sensitivity of Multiplex PCR Analysis of Pathogenic Listeria Species

Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria ivanovii are important pathogenic Listeria spp. that cause infections in humans and animals. Establishing a rapid and sensitive method for the simultaneous screening of pathogenic Listeria spp. is of great significance for ensuring food safety. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) has been extensively reported to simultaneously detect several pathogens in food with high sensitivity, but a time-consuming pre-enrichment process is necessary. In this study, we report the usage of surface-modified polyethyleneimine-coated positively charged magnetic nanoparticles (PEI-MNPs) for rapid enrichment of pathogenic Listeria spp. through electrostatic interactions. The enrichment process takes only 10 min with high capture efficiency (more than 70%) at a wide pH range and ionic strength. Combined with mPCR analysis, the PEI-MNPs-mPCR strategy can simultaneously, rapidly, and sensitively detect pathogenic Listeria spp. without a time-consuming pre-concentration process. Under the optimal conditions, the detection limits of L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii in lettuce were both as low as 101 CFU/mL, which was a hundred times lower than that without magnetic enrichment. In conclusion, the magnetic enrichment strategy based on charge interaction combined with mPCR analysis has great application potential in shortening the pre-concentration time of foodborne pathogens and improving the detection sensitivity.

Assessment of turbulent contact absorber hydrodynamics with application in carbon capture

Chemical gas–liquid absorption systems are one of the most employed technologies for CO2 removal from post-combustion processes, due to the high capture efficiency. This work presents a complex hydrodynamics model used to describe a novel CO2 capture technique that relies on the use of a three phase, gas–solid-liquid absorption column, in which the gas phase acts as the continuous phase, the liquid as the dispersed phase and the low-density solid particles are inert.To determine and analyze the hydrodynamic parameters of the process: minimum fluidization velocity, fluidized bed height, pressure drop, fluid retention, an air–water system was used. The developed hydrodynamics model was validated against experimental data from a pilot column (correlation coefficients above 0.97).For the study of the chemisorption process, the liquid phase consists of NaOH solution and the gas phase is a mixture of CO2 and air. The implementation of the hydrodynamic model along with the mass transfer model contributes to increasing the correlation coefficient for the outlet CO2 concentration to a value above 0.99. In this case, the increased value of the mass transfer area leads to a value up to 10 times higher of the transferred flow of carbon dioxide between the two phases, compared to regular packed bed columns.The model proves useful in the analysis of the influence of liquid phase and solid phase characteristics on the system’s performance. The results show that the capture rate is highly dependent on the fluidized bed height. Increasing the size or density of solid particles leads to a decrease in the height of the fluidized bed resulting in a 20 – 40% decrease in the carbon capture rate.

Scalable and economical Bi0-SiO2 for the high efficient capture of iodine gas

Development of scalable, cheap and efficient bismuth-loaded materials to capture iodine gas is still challenging. Herein, we reported a facile route to fabricate the scalable, cheap and efficient elemental bismuth-loaded SiO2 (Bi0-SiO2) using commercial SiO2 as support materials. The iodine adsorption performance of the obtained Bi0-SiO2 was investigated and compared with that of SiO2, Bi0 powder and Bi0 mixed SiO2. It was found that the capture capacity of Bi0-SiO2 reached a record high of 1019 mg/g within 60 min, which may be attributed to the supply of abundant effective capture sites by the loose Bi0 nanoballs. Up to 97.7% of iodine was chemically and stably captured, namely BiI3 formed through the reaction between Bi0 and I2. Furthermore, the obtained Bi0-SiO2 exhibited excellent irradiation stability and the captured iodine showed good thermal stability. Owing to its low cost, scalable, timesaving and efficient, Bi0-SiO2 can be employed as a promising candidate sorbent for the capture of iodine gas.

A novel platform using homobifunctional hydrazide for enrichment and isolation of urinary circulating RNAs.

Changes in specific circulating RNA (circRNA) expressions can serve as diagnostic noninvasive biomarkers for prostate cancer (PCa). However, there are still unmet needs, such as unclear types and roles of circRNAs, PCa detection in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by unstandardized methods, and limitations of sample volume capacity and low circRNA concentrations. This study reports a simple and rapid circRNA enrichment and isolation technique named "HAZIS-CirR" for the analysis of urinary circRNAs. The method utilizes homobifunctional hydrazides with amine-modified zeolite and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) syringe filtration for combining electrostatic and covalent coupling and size-based filtration, and it offers instrument-free isolation of circRNAs in 20 min without volume limitation, thermoregulation, and lysis. HAZIS-CirR has high capture efficiency (82.03%-92.38%) and a 10-fold more sensitive detection limit (20 fM) than before enrichment (200 fM). The clinical utility of HAZIS-CirR is confirmed by analyzing circulating mRNAs and circulating miRNAs in 89 urine samples. Furthermore, three miRNA panels that differentiate PCa from BPH and control, PCa from control, and BPH from control, respectively, are established by comparing miRNA levels. HAZIS-CirR will be used as an optimal and established method for the enrichment and isolation of circRNAs as diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers in human cancers.

Silver-nanowire/bamboo-charcoal composite percolation network on nylon sheet for improved PM2.5 capture efficiency

Particulate matter (PM) pollution is a significant threat to the environment and public health, necessitating the development of efficient, easy-to-use, versatile protection and treatment devices. Herein, we rationally design a novel reusable composite filter for the high-efficiency capture of indoor fine PM with a particle diameter of <2 µm (PM2.5). The use of such filters is important for ensuring safe indoor environments. This study elucidates the manufacturing of filters based on electrostatic and adsorption principles using a silver-nanowire/bamboo-charcoal composite material to enhance PM elimination. The filter comprised silver nanowires with an 8 mg/mL concentration and bamboo charcoal with a 0.1% w/v concentration, dipped in nylon sheet for nine cycles and annealed at 120 °C for 15 min; the filter exhibited a minimum sheet resistance of 4.1 Ω/sq. Silver-nanowire/bamboo-charcoal composite percolation network filters use strong long-range electrostatic forces and adsorption to capture PM2.5, work in an active mode, and exhibit high efficiency (>99.9%), low power consumption, and reusability after simple washing. The proposed PM filter can be applied in environmental applications.

Bacterial capture and inactivation in sand filtration systems with addition of zero-valent iron as permeable layer under both slow and fast filtration conditions

To improve bacterial capture performance and inactivate bacteria, zero-valent iron (ZVI) were added into sand columns as permeable filtration media. Both Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis (1.25 ×107 cells/mL) could be completely retained in 10 wt% ZVI amended sand columns in different ionic strength solutions (1–100 mM NaCl) at both slow (4 m/day) and fast (90 m/day) flow velocities. The strong adsorption property of ZVI contributed to the improved bacterial capture performance of sand columns. Moreover, ZVI could inactivate nearly all captured bacteria. Clearly, ZVI added as permeable layer not only could significantly enhance bacterial capture but also would inactivate the captured bacteria. ZVI could destroy the structure of extracellular polymeric substance and cell membrane. Intracellular oxidative stress was then increased and ATP content was decreased, causing bacterial death. Furthermore, high bacterial capture efficiencies were achieved with the coexisting of humic acid (0.2–5 mg/L), in actual river water samples, and longtime filtration processes. ZVI could be regenerated and reused as permeable layer to efficiently capture bacteria. Furthermore, sand columns with 10 wt% ZVI amendment could completely capture and inactivate 4.0 × 106 cells/mL algae. Clearly, ZVI amended sand filtration systems have potentials to purify water contaminated by pathogenic bacteria and algae.

Porous Copper-Loaded Zeolites for High-Efficiency Capture of Iodine from Spent Fuel Reprocessing Off-Gas.

Capturing volatile radionuclide iodine produced in the nuclear industry is a crucial environmental issue. In previous studies, the principal efficient adsorbent for iodine capture was silver-containing zeolite. As silver-containing zeolites are expensive, alternate copper-loaded porous zeolites, including CuCl loaded NaY reduced by H2 (denoted as H2CuY) and CO (denoted as COCuY), were studied for iodine adsorption at moderate temperatures. The current work also discusses the influence of copper valency on iodine adsorption. Due to the copper sites and nanosized pore structure, H2CuY and COCuY showed high iodine adsorption capacities of 450 and 219 mg/g, respectively. The iodine adsorption capacity of H2CuY was higher than that of silver-loaded zeolites. Moreover, H2CuY and COCuY adsorbed volatile iodine through a chemical mechanism involving the copper sites of different valencies, and the Cu0 was more effective in adsorbing iodine than Cu+. These copper-loaded zeolites with strong chemical interactions with iodine and high iodine adsorption capacities provided the possibility for iodine adsorption application in the nuclear industry.

Targeted trapping of endogenous endothelial progenitor cells for myocardial ischemic injury repair through neutrophil-mediated SPIO nanoparticle-conjugated CD34 antibody delivery and imaging

Endothelia progenitor cell (EPC)-based revascularization therapies have shown promise for the treatment of myocardial ischemic injury. However, applications and efficacy are limited by the relatively inefficient recruitment of endogenous EPCs to the ischemic area, while implantation of exogenous EPCs carries the risk of tumorigenicity. In this study, we developed a therapeutic protocol that relies on the capacity of neutrophils (NEs) to target lesions and release preloaded EPC-binding molecules for high efficiency capture. Neutrophils were loaded with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles conjugated to an antibody against the EPC surface marker CD34 (SPIO-antiCD34/NEs), and the therapeutic efficacy in ischemic mouse heart following SPIO-antiCD34/NEs injection was monitored by SPIO-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These SPIO-antiCD34/NEs exhibited unimpaired cell viability, superoxide generation, and chemotaxis in vitro as well as satisfactory biocompatibility in vivo. In a mouse model of acute myocardial infarction (MI), SPIO-antiCD34 accumulation could be observed 0.5 h after intravenous injection of SPIO-antiCD34/NEs. Moreover, the degree of CD133+ EPC accumulation at MI sites was three-fold higher than in control MI model mice, while ensuing microvessel density was roughly two-fold higher than controls and left ventricular ejection fraction was > 50%. Therapeutic cell biodistribution, MI site targeting, and treatment effects were confirmed by SPIO-enhanced MRI. This study offers a new strategy to improve the endogenous EPC-based myocardial ischemic injury repair through NEs mediated SPIO nanoparticle conjugated CD34 antibody delivery and imaging. Statement of SignificanceThe efficacy of endogenous endothelial progenitor cell (EPC)-based cardiovascular repair therapy for ischemic heart damage is limited by relatively low EPC accumulation at the target site. We have developed a method to improve EPC capture by exploiting the strong targeting ability of neutrophils (NEs) to ischemic inflammatory foci and the capacity of these treated cells to release of preloaded cargo with EPC-binding affinity. Briefly, NEs were loaded with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles conjugated to an antibody against the EPC surface protein CD34 (SPIO-antiCD34). Thus, we explored sites targeting with nanocomposites cargo for non-invasive EPCs interception and therapy tracking. We demonstrate that SPIO-antiCD34 released from NEs can effectively capture endogenous EPCs and thereby promote heart revascularization and functional recovery in mice. Moreover, the entire process can be monitored by SPIO-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging including therapeutic cell biodistribution, myocardial infarction site targeting, and tissue repair.

Implementation of a Human Motion Capture System Based on the Internet of Things Machine Vision

The classification of the stereo matching comprehensive analysis related algorithm model can be subdivided into local stereo matching based on the entire acquisition and global stereo matching based on the entire local. But it can have a higher capture efficiency because the log-likelihood variance cost calculation function can have a faster feature convergence capture speed than the ordinary log-mean-square error cost function. Through the combination of gray channel and frame difference channel, a better network structure and parameters on the KTH data set are obtained, which can ensure the classification effect while greatly reducing the number of parameters, improving training efficiency and improving classification accuracy. The article uses dual-channel 3D convolutional human neural network technology to achieve 92.5% accuracy of human feature capture, which is significantly better than many traditional feature extraction techniques proposed in the literature.

Environmentally friendly and antimicrobial bilayer structured fabrics with integrated interception and sterilization for personal protective mask

Personal protective mask (PPM) is becoming an effective and convenient apparatus to protect people from harmful air contaminant caused by air pollution and highly infectious respiratory disease. Most of the available PPM can barely possess high capture efficiency towards particulate matters (PMs) and antibacterial activity. Herein, an environmentally friendly and bilayer structured fabric with timely bactericidal efficacy was fabricated through the recombination of silver/zinc two-sides sputtered cotton (SAg/ZnC) and polylactic acid/polycaprolactone (PLA/PCL) composite nanofibers (CNF). A hydroelectricity stimulation was touched off inside the CNF@SAg/ZnC fabric profiting from the external water vapor and then the fabric was given antimicrobial function. The resulting CNF@SAg/ZnC fabric possess intriguing characters, such as high filtration efficiency towards PM0.3 (>99%) with the airflow rate fixed at 85 L/min−1, good antibacterial activity, favorable cell viability, excellent bactericidal ratio against Escherichia coli (99.33%) and Staphylococcus aureus (99.19%) when contact with bacteria for 20 min, and long-lasting durability (>12 h). This work is solely up to the requirements of biodegradable and high-performance media for public health protection, making it a good choice of multi-functional personal protective equipment.

Optimal Defect Detection and Sensing System of Railway Tunnel Radar considering Multisensor System Combined with Active Interference Suppression Algorithm.

With the rapid development of science and technology, testing equipment and testing methods are constantly updated. Radar detectors have the advantages of losslessness, high efficiency, high resolution, and high-speed radar image capture. They can accurately locate defects in railway tunnels, respond to hidden dangers in time, and provide strong technical support for transportation. This paper proposes to optimize the defect detection of railway tunnel radar through the combination of multisensor technology and active interference suppression algorithm and designs the corresponding sensor system according to the content. This article analyzes several factors that affect the radar detection effect and makes a detailed summary from the detection environment and other aspects. At the same time, it uses the multisensor system combined with active interference suppression algorithm to design a railway tunnel detection simulation experiment. Experimental results show that the use of multisensors combined with active interference suppression algorithm to optimize radar detection can effectively improve the accuracy of railway tunnel defect detection. Through the analysis of the results of tunnel defect detection, the detection accuracy of this paper has reached 98.8%, which can provide an effective reference for the detection of railway tunnels.

One-step supramolecular fabrication of ionic liquid/ZIF-8 nanocomposites for low-energy CO2 capture from flue gas and conversion

High-efficient capture of CO2 from flue gas at discharged temperatures (100–120 °C) and convert CO2 under mild condition is of vital importance for low energy consumption and emission reduction, which yet remains a great challenge. A one-step supramolecular strategy for incorporating amino-functionalized ionic liquids (AFILs) into ZIF-8 is proposed for capture and conversion of CO2 from flue gas at discharged temperatures. AFILs are attached through metal-coordination interaction between Zn (II) and the NH2 group on AFIL, by which the large BET surface area and high thermal stability inherited from ZIF-8 are maintained well. The nanocomposites with low IL consumptions can rapidly capture CO2 from the flue gas with a high capacity of 2.68 mmol·g−1 within 4 min and efficiently catalyze CO2 into cyclic carbonates with excellent yield (95.6%) and selectivity (97.0%) at 40 °C and 0.1 MPa. In-situ DRIFTS and DFT calculation elucidated the effective synergistic mechanism of multiple active sites (C2-proton on imidazolium ring, imidazolium cation, protons of methyl group, protons of methylene group, Cl anion and Zn (II)) for CO2 adsorption and conversion. The activities in both the CO2 capture and conversion can be easily recycled, endowing the nanocomposites with outstanding practical potentials.

High-efficiency capture of ammonia using hierarchically porous Zr-MOF nanoarchitectures under ambient conditions: Thermodynamics, kinetics, and mechanisms

Zirconium-based metal–organic frameworks (Zr-MOFs) have emerged as a promising candidate for efficiently eliminating toxic chemicals under ambient conditions. Herein, we demonstrate the remarkable ammonia capture capabilities of the hierarchically porous MOF-808 xerogel (G808) macrostructure and its amino-functionalized analogue (G808-NH2), which were constructed through a sol–gel-based strategy combined with convenient ambient pressure drying. Static isotherm measurements and dynamic breakthrough tests using engineered Zr-MOF xerogel granules were conducted to illuminate the thermodynamic and kinetic characteristics for ammonia sorption. The G808 and G808-NH2 xerogels manifest substantially higher ammonia uptake, intensified interfacial interactions, and enhanced irreversible retention toward ammonia compared with the state-of-the-art activated carbon-based materials, particularly at the low-concentration region. Moreover, these hierarchical Zr-MOF nanoarchitectures exhibit extraordinary ammonia removal performance as well as excellent environmental robustness under simulated respirator canister/protection filter circumstances, with the breakthrough capacities of G808-NH2 being individually more than two and one orders of magnitude greater than those for the pristine and metal-amine impregnated carbons. The kinetic ammonia adsorption behaviors can be well delineated by the pseudo-first-order Wheeler-Jonas model. An in-depth discussion on the ammonia sorption regime, detailing five binding patterns besides reversible physisorption with a special focus on the impacts of polar amino groups and humidity, was proposed based on multiple characterizations and Grand Canonical Monte Carlo simulation.

High-efficiency capture and removal of phosphate from wastewater by 3D hierarchical functional biomass-derived carbon aerogel

The development of functional biomass-based carbon aerogels (CAs) with excellent mechanical flexibility and ultra-high phosphate capture capacity is crucial for capture and recovery of phosphate from waste water. Herein, a functional biomass-derived CA (MgO@SL/CMC CA) with an ordered wave-shaped layered structure and excellent compressibility was fabricated with the aim of creating a material with efficient phosphate capture performance. The incorporation of sulfonomethylated lignin (SL) significantly improves the mechanical flexibility of MgO@SL/CMC CA. Numerous MgO nano-particles (NPs), which act as principal adsorption sites, were uniformly anchored on the MgO@SL/CMC CA. The prepared MgO@SL/CMC CA with high Mg content (20.34 wt%) exhibited an ultra-high phosphate capture capacity (218.51 mg P g−1 for adsorbent or 644.58 mg P g−1 for MgO), excellent adsorptive selectivity for phosphate and a wide pH range of application (2–8). Notably, more than 81.95% of the phosphate capture capacity was retained after six cyclic adsorption-desorption tests. A considerable effective treatment volume (468 BV) of actual wastewater (1.7 mg P L−1) could be achieved by the MgO@SL/CMC CA in the fixed-bed adsorption column. Research into the adsorption mechanism reveals that monolayer chemisorption of phosphate occurs on the MgO@SL/CMC CA through a ligand exchange process. The combination of favorable flexibility, green raw materials and superior phosphate capture performance endows MgO@SL/CMC CA with great application potential in the practical treatment of wastewater.

Multifunctional Gelatin-Nanoparticle-Modified Chip for Enhanced Capture and Non-Destructive Release of Circulating Tumor Cells

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in cancer patients’ peripheral blood have been demonstrated to be a significant biomarker for metastasis detection, disease prognosis, and therapy response. Due to their extremely low concentrations, efficient enrichment and non-destructive release are needed. Herein, an FTO chip modified with multifunctional gelatin nanoparticles (GNPs) was designed for the specific capture and non-destructive release of CTCs. These nanoparticles share a similar dimension with the microvilli and pseudopodium of the cellular surface; thus, they can enhance adhesion to CTCs, and then GNPs can be degraded by the enzyme matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-9), gently releasing the captured cells. In addition, the transparency of the chip makes it possible for fluorescence immunoassay identification in situ under a microscope. Our chip attained a high capture efficiency of 89.27%, a release efficiency of 91.98%, and an excellent cellular viability of 96.91% when the concentration of MMP-9 was 0.2 mg/mL. Moreover, we successfully identified CTCs from cancer patients’ blood samples. This simple-to-operate, low-cost chip exhibits great potential for clinical application.

On-chip circulating tumor cells isolation based on membrane filtration and immuno-magnetic bead clump capture

Isolating rare circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood is critical for the downstream analysis that is important in cancer-related research, diagnosis, and medicine, and efforts are ongoing to increase the efficiency and purity of CTC isolation in microfluidics. Reported in this paper is a two-stage integrated microfluidic chip for coarse-to-fine CTC isolation from whole blood. First, blood cells are removed by filtration using a micropore-array membrane, then CTCs and other cells that are trapped in the micropores are peeled off the membrane by a novel release method based on air–liquid interfacial tension, which significantly increases the recovery rate of CTCs. The second stage is CTC capture based on an on-chip dense immuno-magnetic-bead clump, which offers high capture efficiency and purity. Both the micropore filtration and immuno-magnetic-bead capture are validated and optimized experimentally. Overall, the integrated microfluidic chip can realize a recovery rate of 85.5% and a purity of 37.8% for rare cancer cells spiked in whole blood.