A new continuous-flow cell separation method based on cell density: principle, apparatus, and preliminary application...

With the recent progress in transfusion medicine, separation and isolation of cells in a large quantity is becoming increasingly important. At present, the continuous cell separation method in a preparative scale is limited to apheresis and elutriation: the former is mainly used for collection of platelet and buffy coat from the whole blood, while the latter separates cells virtually according to their size. Here we introduce a continuous flow method that separates cells entirely based on cell density. The method is gentle and capable of processing a large number of cells. The potential capability of the method was demonstrated on separation of lymphocytes and granulocytes from human buffy coat. Lymphocytes were enriched to 90% in the fraction at density = 1.065 and granulocytes are isolated in fractions at density = 1.075-1.080 while red cells were completely retained at the periphery of the channel. CD34 cells were distributed around 1.065 and coeluted with lymphocytes, suggesting that further enrichment requires focusing the density gradient around 1.070. The method could process 10(9) nucleated cells in 2 hours. Our preliminary results suggest that the present method is an effective and efficient means to separate blood cells.