Inertia-Acoustophoresis Hybrid Microfluidic Device for Rapid and Efficient Cell Separation.

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Microfluidics
• Cell Separation Technology

Background:

• Particle and cell separation are crucial in various biological and medical applications.
• Existing methods often require labels or involve physical contact, potentially affecting cell viability.
• There is a need for efficient, label-free, and non-contact separation techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and demonstrate an integrated microfluidic device for non-contact, label-free particle and cell separation.
• To combine inertial microfluidics and acoustophoresis for size-based separation.
• To evaluate the device's performance in terms of efficiency, recovery, and throughput.

Main Methods:

• An integrated device combining a PDMS channel chip (inertial microfluidics) and a silicon-based acoustofluidic chip (acoustophoresis) was fabricated.
• Particles/cells were pre-focused in a serpentine-shaped PDMS channel using inertial forces.
• Separation was achieved in a trifugal-shaped acoustofluidic chip using acoustic radiation forces based on particle size.

Main Results:

• The device successfully separated particles and cells based on size with high efficiency.
• Demonstrated excellent separation performance with a recovery ratio up to 96.3% and separation efficiency up to 99%.
• Achieved a high volume rate exceeding 100 µL/min, indicating high throughput capability.

Conclusions:

• The integrated microfluidic device offers an efficient, non-contact, and label-free method for particle and cell separation.
• This technology presents a viable alternative to current cell separation methods due to its low cost, reduced sample consumption, and high throughput.
• The combined approach of inertial microfluidics and acoustophoresis shows significant promise for biological sample processing.