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Scaling microfluidic throughput with flow-balanced manifolds to simply control devices with multiple inlets and
Katherine M Young1, Peter G Shankles2, Theresa Chen2
1Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 313 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0535, USA.
Biomicrofluidics
|May 23, 2022
Summary
This study presents a novel microfluidic design with parallel channels and a manifold system to overcome throughput limitations in cell processing. The approach enables high-volume cell sorting while maintaining accuracy, crucial for scaling applications.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Microfluidics
- Bioengineering
Background:
- Microfluidic devices offer unique cell processing capabilities but face throughput limitations due to small channel dimensions.
- Scaling microfluidic cell processing is hindered by device failure at high cell concentrations or flow rates.
- Designing parallel channels for increased throughput complicates microfluidic device architecture, leading to excessive inlets/outlets.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a microfluidic parallelization strategy that enhances throughput without increasing the number of inlets/outlets.
- To design a flow-balanced manifold system for complex microfluidic architectures.
- To validate the performance of a parallelized microfluidic device for label-free cell separation.
Main Methods:
- A manifold layer was designed to connect multiple parallel microfluidic channels, balancing flow properties.
- Analytical and finite element analysis modeling were used to achieve flow balancing.
- Volumetric flow and cell flow velocity were measured to validate the models.
Main Results:
- An eight-channel microfluidic device was successfully operated, maintaining single-channel separation accuracy.
- The parallelized device processed over 16 × 10^6 cells in three replicates.
- A throughput of 5.3 × 10^6 cells per hour was achieved for cell viability sorting.
Conclusions:
- Parallelization of complex microfluidics using a flow-balanced manifold system significantly enhances processing throughput.
- This approach enables higher throughput cell processing while controlling flow properties and maintaining device accuracy.
- The developed system is suitable for scaling applications requiring high-volume cell sorting and analysis.
