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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: Jun 22, 2025

Author Spotlight: Advancing Live-Cell Mechanobiology Through Fluorescence Microaspiration

Author Spotlight: Advancing Live-Cell Mechanobiology Through Fluorescence Microaspiration

Published on: January 12, 2024

A Capillary-Force-Driven, Single-Cell Transfer Method for Studying Rare Cells.

Jacob Amontree¹, Kangfu Chen^1,2, Jose Varillas³

¹Interdisciplinary Microsystems Group (IMG), Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.

Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland)

|June 27, 2024

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Accurately spiking rare cells, like tumor cells, into samples is difficult. This new method uses capillary forces for precise, non-destructive single-cell transfer, enabling reliable low-concentration cell spiking for research.

Keywords:

circulating tumor cells microfluidics rare cells single-cell transfer

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Transcriptome Analysis of Single Cells

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Published on: April 25, 2011

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Last Updated: Jun 22, 2025

Author Spotlight: Advancing Live-Cell Mechanobiology Through Fluorescence Microaspiration

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A Pipette-Tip Based Method for Seeding Cells to Droplet Microfluidic Platforms

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Published on: February 11, 2019

Transcriptome Analysis of Single Cells

Transcriptome Analysis of Single Cells

Published on: April 25, 2011

Area of Science:

Biomedical research
Cell biology
Biotechnology

Background:

Characterizing rare cells in heterogeneous populations is crucial for biomedical research.
Accurate low-concentration cell spiking is essential for validating cell isolation methods.
Standard dilution methods for low-concentration cell spiking are often inaccurate due to inhomogeneity.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a low-cost, accurate, and reproducible method for low-concentration cell spiking.
To enable non-destructive single-cell transfer for validating cell isolation techniques.
To establish a reliable method for generating model samples with precise rare cell concentrations.

Main Methods:

Utilized capillary force generated by sudden pressure drops for non-destructive single-cell aspiration and transfer.
Investigated cellular membrane tensions and various tip/cell diameter combinations.
Performed control experiments with human acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells (CCRF-CEM) for calibration.

Main Results:

Demonstrated a novel method for accurate and reproducible low-concentration cell spiking without external pumps.
Confirmed that the capillary-force-induced aspiration does not affect cell viability.
Successfully generated accurate concentrations ranging from 1 to 15 cells/mL using affinity-based tumor cell isolation.

Conclusions:

The developed capillary-force method offers a cost-effective solution for precise low-concentration cell spiking.
This technique enhances the reliability of validating rare cell detection and isolation methods.
The method facilitates the generation of accurate model samples for advancing biomedical research involving rare cells.