Paramagnetic capture mode magnetophoretic microseparator for blood cells

The paper presents the characterisation of a continuous paramagnetic capture (PMC) mode magnetophoretic microseparator for separating red and white blood cells from whole blood based on their native magnetic properties. The PMC microseparator separates the blood cells using a high-gradient magnetic separation method without the use of additives such as magnetic tagging. The microseparator is fabricated using microfabrication technology, enabling the integration of micro-scale magnetic flux concentrators in an aqueous micro-environment. Experimental results show that the PMC microseparator can continuously separate out 91.1% of red blood cells from whole blood within 5 min, using an external magnetic flux of 0.2 T from a permanent magnet. Monitoring of white blood cells dyed with a fluorescent probe shows that 87.7% of white blood cells are separated out by the 0.2 T external magnetic flux applied to the PMC microseparator.