A Universal and Single-Step (De)Molding Sorting Chip Integrating Inertial and Deterministic Lateral Displacement...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Microfluidics
• Diagnostic Technologies

Background:

• Conventional blood cell separation for serum tests is complex and time-consuming.
• Efficient separation is crucial for on-chip rapid serum assays.
• Existing methods involve multiple processing steps like centrifugation and lysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an efficient microfluidic chip for rapid blood cell separation.
• To enable on-chip serum extraction for immediate diagnostic testing.
• To integrate blood cell sorting into point-of-care diagnostic systems.

Main Methods:

• Development of a microfluidic chip integrating inertial sorting and deterministic lateral displacement.
• Utilizing a helical structure and triangular microcolumn array for cell separation.
• Employing finite element analysis to simulate blood flow and optimize chip design.
• Experimental validation of cell sorting efficiency.

Main Results:

• Simulations predicted cell sorting efficiency exceeding 98% at optimal flow rates.
• Experimental results demonstrated a high sorting efficiency of over 96%.
• The chip successfully separates blood cells, allowing for supernatant extraction for serum testing.

Conclusions:

• The developed microfluidic chip offers a rapid and efficient method for blood cell separation.
• This technology has significant potential for integration into on-chip serum testing systems for disease diagnosis.
• The chip can serve as a stand-alone module for various diagnostic applications.