High flow rate microfluidic device for blood plasma separation using a range of temperatures

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Microfluidics
• Separation Science

Background:

• Accurate and rapid separation of plasma from whole blood is crucial for various diagnostic and laboratory applications.
• Existing methods can be time-consuming, require large sample volumes, or necessitate complex equipment.
• Microfluidic devices offer a promising alternative for point-of-care (POC) and lab-on-a-chip (LOC) systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and fabricate a hybrid microfluidic device for hydrodynamic separation of human plasma from blood cells.
• To investigate the effects of temperature and flow rates on the efficiency of plasma separation.
• To evaluate the device's performance for continuous operation and its potential for POC applications.

Main Methods:

• A hybrid microfluidic device was designed with a constrictor channel and an output channel for plasma collection.
• The device was tested using whole human blood across a range of flow rates (50–200 µL/min) and temperatures (23–50 °C).
• Continuous operation was assessed with varying erythrocyte concentrations (5–40%) to evaluate channel blockage and hemolysis.

Main Results:

• The device successfully separated plasma from whole blood across tested flow rates and temperatures.
• Increased temperature (up to 50 °C) significantly enhanced the cell-free layer by up to 250%.
• High cell removal percentages (95.4–97.05%) were achieved at 37 °C with flow rates of 100–200 µL/min, with minimal hemolysis and no channel blockage.

Conclusions:

• The developed hybrid microfluidic device demonstrates efficient plasma separation from whole blood.
• Optimal performance is achieved by manipulating temperature and flow rates, enhancing the cell-free layer.
• The device's robustness and efficiency make it suitable for in vitro lab-on-a-chip and hand-held point-of-care applications.