High-Throughput Cell Trapping in the Dentate Spiral Microfluidic Channel

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Microfluidics
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Cell trapping is crucial for cell-based assays and cellular research.
• Existing methods require high-throughput and high-efficiency cell isolation and immobilization.
• Specific positioning of captured cells is essential for detailed cellular analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and optimize a novel dentate spiral microfluidic structure for efficient cell trapping.
• To demonstrate the high-throughput and high-efficiency capabilities of the proposed microfluidic device.
• To evaluate the performance of the cell trapping technique with cancer cells.

Main Methods:

• Design of a microfluidic chip featuring a main spiral channel with numerous side-mounted dentate traps.
• Optimization of the microfluidic structure by investigating flow dynamics.
• Experimental validation using 4T1 mouse breast cancer cells at a high flow rate (40 μL/s).

Main Results:

• The dentate spiral microfluidic structure demonstrated effective cell capture and isolation.
• High trapping efficiency exceeding 90% was achieved.
• The system operated effectively at a high flow rate of 40 μL/s, showcasing throughput.

Conclusions:

• The proposed dentate spiral microfluidic structure offers a high-throughput and high-efficiency solution for cell trapping.
• This technique is suitable for rapid microfluidic cell-based assays.
• Potential applications include the isolation of rare circulating tumor cells from blood samples.