Label-Free Impedance-Activated Acoustic Sorting of Cells From Structural to Molecular Scale in Microfluidics

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cell Biology
• Microfluidics

Background:

• Label-free, noninvasive, and high-throughput cell analysis are crucial for biomedicine.
• Investigating cellular heterogeneity, functional phenotyping, and precision medicine requires advanced cell sorting techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an integrated microfluidic system for real-time electrical profiling and on-demand acoustic cell sorting.
• To demonstrate the system's capability for analyzing and sorting cells across various physical and functional scales.

Main Methods:

• Integrated microfluidic system with real-time electrical profiling and acoustic sorting.
• Size-based sorting and distinguishing normal vs. perturbed erythrocytes based on impedance shifts.
• Optogenetic model for label-free sorting of cells based on membrane electrical responses.

Main Results:

• Achieved up to 98% purity in size-based sorting.
• Accurately distinguished normal and perturbed erythrocytes by detecting rigidity-associated impedance shifts.
• Successfully performed label-free sorting of optogenetically induced and pharmacologically modulated cell states.

Conclusions:

• The microfluidic system offers a broadly applicable solution for label-free cell analysis and sorting.
• It provides a scalable and biocompatible platform for functional state identification across diverse biological contexts.