Selective Capture and Addressable Release of Single Cells Enabled by Acoustic Resonator Integrated Serpentine
Huijing Zhang1, Yang Bai1, Huihui Xu2
1State Key Laboratory of Precision Measuring Technology and Instruments, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.
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Single cell manipulation and analysis are crucial for understanding cellular heterogeneity, yet conventional microfluidic approaches suffer from poor selectivity, structural complexity, and low throughput. Here, we present an acoustofluidic-microstructure integrated platform combining a right triangle-shaped bulk acoustic wave (RTBAW) resonator with a serpentine microchannel. The platform enables selective capture (efficiency >90%) and addressable release (efficiency >90%) of single cells by leveraging acoustic streaming-induced hydrodynamic forces. Unlike existing methods relying on optical or electrical fields, our design eliminates thermal damage and ionic interference while achieving submillisecond response time and parallel processing of 4 cells per array unit. This simplified architecture reduces fabrication complexity and enhances throughput by directing untargeted cells through curved bypass channels. We validated the platform's utility in live/dead cell sorting, demonstrating its potential for high-precision single-cell diagnostics, drug screening, and rare cell isolation.
