Image-based cell sorting using focused travelling surface acoustic waves.

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Cell Biology
• Microfluidics

Background:

• Cell sorting is crucial for biological and clinical applications, but current methods face limitations in purity and throughput.
• Label-free cell sorting based on mechanical properties offers a promising alternative for isolating cells from heterogeneous populations.
• Existing microfluidic systems struggle to balance high sorting purity with sufficient sorting rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and demonstrate a novel label-free cell sorting method.
• To achieve high-purity cell sorting at high throughput using physical properties.
• To enable the isolation of small cell fractions from complex biological samples.

Main Methods:

• Utilized focused travelling surface acoustic waves (FTSAW) for cell manipulation.
• Integrated real-time deformability cytometry (RT-DC) for label-free cell analysis.
• Developed a microfluidic system for simultaneous cell analysis and sorting.

Main Results:

• Achieved sorting rates of up to 400 particles per second with >92% purity.
• Demonstrated sorting of diverse cell types and particles based on physical parameters.
• Successfully enriched white blood cells (WBCs) 667-fold from whole blood in a 10-hour experiment.

Conclusions:

• The developed FTSAW and RT-DC system offers a high-throughput, high-purity solution for label-free cell sorting.
• This method enables efficient isolation of specific cell populations, including small fractions from complex samples.
• The technology holds potential for advancing various biological and therapeutic applications requiring precise cell manipulation.