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Centrifugation

Centrifugation

Centrifugation is a separation technique based on differences in density or size. It is commonly used to separate solids from aqueous interferents. During centrifugation, the sample is placed in centrifugation tubes and spun at high angular velocity, which allows centrifugal force to act differentially on the different densities or masses of the components. After spinning, the supernatant liquid is decanted. Depending on the specific application, either the pellet or the supernatant is retained...

Overview Of Cell Separation And Isolation

Overview Of Cell Separation And Isolation

Cell separation was first achieved in 1964 by S. H. Seal, who separated large tumor cells from the smaller blood cells using filtration. Two years later, Pohl and Hawk performed experiments on how cells respond differently to a nonuniform electric field based on the cell type. Such observations were the inception of cell separation methods, which allow isolating a single cell type from a heterogeneous sample.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 7, 2025

Separating Beads and Cells in Multi-channel Microfluidic Devices Using Dielectrophoresis and Laminar Flow

Separating Beads and Cells in Multi-channel Microfluidic Devices Using Dielectrophoresis and Laminar Flow

Published on: February 4, 2011

Cell-sorting centrifugal microfluidic chip with a flow rectifier.

Junyu Ma¹, Yihui Wu², Yongshun Liu²

¹State Key Laboratory of Applied Optics, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics (CIOMP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China. yihuiwu@ciomp.ac.cn liuyongshun1981@163.com and School of optoelectronics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

|April 30, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study introduces a novel centrifugal microfluidic chip with a flow rectifier. It enhances the separation purity and recovery ratio of particles based on size, proving effective for biological cell sorting.

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Area of Science:

Biomedical Engineering
Microfluidics
Cell Separation Technology

Background:

Centrifugal microfluidic chips enable rapid, integrated microfluidic control without external pumps.
Current methods primarily use density-based separation, which is less effective when volume differences are more significant, as in cancer cells.
Non-steady fluid flow in centrifugal chips reduces separation purity for particles of different sizes.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a centrifugal microfluidic chip capable of separating particles based on size.
To address the limitations of non-steady flow and particle sedimentation in existing centrifugal microfluidic systems.
To improve the recovery ratio and separation purity of target particles, particularly biological cells.

Main Methods:

Introduction of a flow rectifier into a centrifugal microfluidic chip.
Transformation of unsteady centrifugal flow into a locally steady, continuous flow.
Experimental validation using polystyrene particles of different sizes and a mixture of tumor cells and white blood cells.

Main Results:

Achieved >95% recovery ratio and separation purity for 25 μm polystyrene particles against 12 μm particles.
Successfully separated rare tumor cells from high-concentration white blood cells with 90.4% ± 2.4% recovery and 83.0% ± 3.8% purity.
Demonstrated the chip's ability to overcome issues of particle sedimentation and non-steady flow.

Conclusions:

The developed centrifugal microfluidic chip with a flow rectifier effectively separates particles by size.
This technology shows significant potential for various biological cell sorting applications.
The chip holds promise for advancements in biomedical and clinical applications requiring precise cell separation.