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Chen J, Fu L, Wei M, Zheng S, Zheng J, Lyu Z, Huang X, Sun L. Label-free white blood cells classification using a deep feature fusion neural network. Heliyon 2024; 10:e31496. [PMID: 38845979 PMCID: PMC11153090 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2024] [Accepted: 05/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
White blood cell (WBC) classification is a valuable diagnostic approach for identifying diseases. However, conventional methods for WBC detection, such as flow cytometers, have limitations in terms of their high cost, large system size, and laborious staining procedures. As a result, deep learning-based label-free WBC image analysis methods are gaining popularity. Nevertheless, most existing deep learning WBC classification techniques fail to effectively utilize the subtle differences in the internal structures of WBCs observed under a microscope. To address this issue, we propose a neural network with feature fusion in this study, which enables the detection of label-free WBCs. Unlike conventional convolutional neural networks (CNNs), our approach combines low-level features extracted by shallow layers with high-level features extracted by deep layers, generating fused features for accurate bright-field WBC identification. Our method achieves an accuracy of 80.3 % on the testing set, demonstrating a potential solution for deep-learning-based biomedical diagnoses. Considering the proposed method simplifies the cell detection process and eliminates the need for complex operations like fluorescent staining, we anticipate that this automatic and label-free WBC classification network could facilitate more precise and effective analysis, and it could contribute to the future adoption of miniatured flow cytometers for point-of-care (POC) diagnostics applications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Maoyu Wei
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of RF Circuits and Systems, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, 310018, Zhejiang, China
| | - Sikai Zheng
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of RF Circuits and Systems, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, 310018, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jingwen Zheng
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of RF Circuits and Systems, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, 310018, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zefei Lyu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of RF Circuits and Systems, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, 310018, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xiwei Huang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of RF Circuits and Systems, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, 310018, Zhejiang, China
| | - Lingling Sun
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of RF Circuits and Systems, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, 310018, Zhejiang, China
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2
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Mane S, Behera A, Hemadri V, Bhand S, Tripathi S. Micropump integrated white blood cell separation platform for detection of chronic granulomatous disease. Mikrochim Acta 2024; 191:295. [PMID: 38700804 DOI: 10.1007/s00604-024-06372-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024]
Abstract
White blood cells (WBCs) are robust defenders during antigenic challenges and prime immune cell functioning indicators. High-purity WBC separation is vital for various clinical assays and disease diagnosis. Red blood cells (RBCs) are a major hindrance in WBC separation, constituting 1000 times the WBC population. The study showcases a low-cost micropump integrated microfluidic platform to provide highly purified WBCs for point-of-care testing. An integrated user-friendly microfluidic platform was designed to separate WBCs from finger-prick blood (⁓5 μL), employing an inertial focusing technique. We achieved an efficient WBC separation with 86% WBC purity and 99.99% RBC removal rate in less than 1 min. In addition, the microdevice allows lab-on-chip colorimetric evaluation of chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), a rare genetic disorder affecting globally. The assay duration, straight from separation to disease detection, requires only 20 min. Hence, the proposed microfluidic platform can further be implemented to streamline various clinical procedures involving WBCs in healthcare industries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanjay Mane
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, BITS-Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, Sankval, Goa, 403726, India
| | - Abhishek Behera
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, BITS-Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, Sankval, Goa, 403726, India
| | - Vadiraj Hemadri
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, BITS-Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, Sankval, Goa, 403726, India
| | - Sunil Bhand
- Department of Chemistry, BITS-Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, Sankval, Goa, 403726, India
| | - Siddhartha Tripathi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, BITS-Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, Sankval, Goa, 403726, India.
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Chavez-Pineda OG, Rodriguez-Moncayo R, Gonzalez-Suarez AM, Guevara-Pantoja PE, Maravillas-Montero JL, Garcia-Cordero JL. Portable platform for leukocyte extraction from blood using sheath-free microfluidic DLD. LAB ON A CHIP 2024; 24:2575-2589. [PMID: 38646820 DOI: 10.1039/d4lc00132j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Leukocyte count is routinely performed for diagnostic purposes and is rapidly emerging as a significant biomarker for a wide array of diseases. Additionally, leukocytes have demonstrated considerable promise in novel cell-based immunotherapies. However, the direct retrieval of leukocytes from whole blood is a significant challenge due to their low abundance compared to erythrocytes. Here, we introduce a microfluidic-based platform that isolates and recovers leukocytes from diluted whole blood in a single step. Our platform utilizes a novel, sheathless method to initially sediment and focus blood cells into a dense stream while flowing through a tubing before entering the microfluidic device. A hexagonal-shaped structure, patterned at the device's inlet, directs all the blood cells against the channel's outer walls. The focused cells are then separated based on their size using the deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) microfluidic technique. We evaluated various parameters that could influence leukocyte separation, including different focusing structures (assessed both computationally and experimentally), the orientation of the tubing-chip interface, the effects of blood sample hematocrit (dilution), and flow rate. Our device demonstrated the ability to isolate leukocytes from diluted blood with a separation efficiency of 100%, a recovery rate of 76%, and a purity of 80%, while maintaining a cell viability of 98%. The device operates for over 30 min at a flow rate of 2 μL min-1. Furthermore, we developed a handheld pressure controller to drive fluid flow, enhancing the operability of our platform outside of central laboratories and enabling near-patient testing. Our platform can be integrated with downstream cell-based assays and analytical methods that require high leukocyte purity (80%), ranging from cell counting to diagnostics and cell culture applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oriana G Chavez-Pineda
- Laboratory of Microtechnologies Applied to Biomedicine (LMAB), Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados (Cinvestav), Monterrey, NL, Mexico
| | - Roberto Rodriguez-Moncayo
- Laboratory of Microtechnologies Applied to Biomedicine (LMAB), Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados (Cinvestav), Monterrey, NL, Mexico
| | - Alan M Gonzalez-Suarez
- Laboratory of Microtechnologies Applied to Biomedicine (LMAB), Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados (Cinvestav), Monterrey, NL, Mexico
| | - Pablo E Guevara-Pantoja
- Laboratory of Microtechnologies Applied to Biomedicine (LMAB), Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados (Cinvestav), Monterrey, NL, Mexico
| | - Jose L Maravillas-Montero
- Red de Apoyo a la Investigación, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México e Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Mexico City14080, Mexico
| | - Jose L Garcia-Cordero
- Laboratory of Microtechnologies Applied to Biomedicine (LMAB), Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados (Cinvestav), Monterrey, NL, Mexico
- Institute of Human Biology (IHB), Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Basel 4058, Switzerland.
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4
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Zhang T, Di Carlo D, Lim CT, Zhou T, Tian G, Tang T, Shen AQ, Li W, Li M, Yang Y, Goda K, Yan R, Lei C, Hosokawa Y, Yalikun Y. Passive microfluidic devices for cell separation. Biotechnol Adv 2024; 71:108317. [PMID: 38220118 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2024.108317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 12/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2024] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
The separation of specific cell populations is instrumental in gaining insights into cellular processes, elucidating disease mechanisms, and advancing applications in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, diagnostics, and cell therapies. Microfluidic methods for cell separation have propelled the field forward, benefitting from miniaturization, advanced fabrication technologies, a profound understanding of fluid dynamics governing particle separation mechanisms, and a surge in interdisciplinary investigations focused on diverse applications. Cell separation methodologies can be categorized according to their underlying separation mechanisms. Passive microfluidic separation systems rely on channel structures and fluidic rheology, obviating the necessity for external force fields to facilitate label-free cell separation. These passive approaches offer a compelling combination of cost-effectiveness and scalability when compared to active methods that depend on external fields to manipulate cells. This review delves into the extensive utilization of passive microfluidic techniques for cell separation, encompassing various strategies such as filtration, sedimentation, adhesion-based techniques, pinched flow fractionation (PFF), deterministic lateral displacement (DLD), inertial microfluidics, hydrophoresis, viscoelastic microfluidics, and hybrid microfluidics. Besides, the review provides an in-depth discussion concerning cell types, separation markers, and the commercialization of these technologies. Subsequently, it outlines the current challenges faced in the field and presents a forward-looking perspective on potential future developments. This work hopes to aid in facilitating the dissemination of knowledge in cell separation, guiding future research, and informing practical applications across diverse scientific disciplines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianlong Zhang
- College of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China
| | - Dino Di Carlo
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Chwee Teck Lim
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117583, Singapore
| | - Tianyuan Zhou
- College of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China
| | - Guizhong Tian
- College of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China.
| | - Tao Tang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117583, Singapore
| | - Amy Q Shen
- Micro/Bio/Nanofluidics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna-son, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan
| | - Weihua Li
- School of Mechanical, Materials, Mechatronic and Biomedical Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
| | - Ming Li
- School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Yang Yang
- Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, Hainan 572000, China
| | - Keisuke Goda
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Chemistry, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan; The Institute of Technological Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Ruopeng Yan
- The Institute of Technological Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Cheng Lei
- The Institute of Technological Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Yoichiroh Hosokawa
- Division of Materials Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara 630-0192, Japan
| | - Yaxiaer Yalikun
- Division of Materials Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara 630-0192, Japan.
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Yang Z, Wu Y, Neo SH, Yang D, Jeon H, Tee CA, Denslin V, Lin DJ, Lee EH, Boyer LA, Han J. Size-Based Microfluidic-Enriched Mesenchymal Stem Cell Subpopulations Enhance Articular Cartilage Repair. Am J Sports Med 2024; 52:503-515. [PMID: 38186352 DOI: 10.1177/03635465231214431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The functional heterogeneity of culture-expanded mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has hindered the clinical application of MSCs. Previous studies have shown that MSC subpopulations with superior chondrogenic capacity can be isolated using a spiral microfluidic device based on the principle of inertial cell focusing. HYPOTHESIS The delivery of microfluidic-enriched chondrogenic MSCs that are consistent in size and function will overcome the challenge of the functional heterogeneity of expanded MSCs and will significantly improve MSC-based cartilage repair. STUDY DESIGN Controlled laboratory study. METHODS A next-generation, fully automated multidimensional double spiral microfluidic device was designed to provide more refined and efficient isolation of MSC subpopulations based on size. Analysis of in vitro chondrogenic potential and RNA sequencing was performed on size-sorted MSC subpopulations. In vivo cartilage repair efficacy was demonstrated in an osteochondral injury model in 12-week-old rats. Defects were implanted with MSC subpopulations (n = 6 per group) and compared with those implanted with unsegregated MSCs (n = 6). Osteochondral repair was assessed at 6 and 12 weeks after surgery by histological, micro-computed tomography, and mechanical analysis. RESULTS A chondrogenic MSC subpopulation was efficiently isolated using the multidimensional double spiral device. RNA sequencing revealed distinct transcriptomic profiles and identified differential gene expression between subpopulations. The delivery of a chondrogenic MSC subpopulation resulted in improved cartilage repair, as indicated by histological scoring, the compression modulus, and micro-computed tomography of the subchondral bone. CONCLUSION We have established a rapid, label-free, and reliable microfluidic protocol for more efficient size-based enrichment of a chondrogenic MSC subpopulation. Our proof-of-concept in vivo study demonstrates the enhanced cartilage repair efficacy of these enriched chondrogenic MSCs. CLINICAL RELEVANCE The delivery of microfluidic-enriched chondrogenic MSCs that are consistent in size and function can overcome the challenge of the functional heterogeneity of expanded MSCs, resulting in significant improvement in MSC-based cartilage repair. The availability of such rapid, label-free enriched chondrogenic MSCs can enable better cell therapy products for cartilage repair with improved treatment outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheng Yang
- Critical Analytics for Manufacturing Personalized-Medicine Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore, Singapore
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- NUS Tissue Engineering Program, Life Sciences Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Yingnan Wu
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- NUS Tissue Engineering Program, Life Sciences Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Shu Hui Neo
- Critical Analytics for Manufacturing Personalized-Medicine Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Dahou Yang
- Critical Analytics for Manufacturing Personalized-Medicine Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Hyungkook Jeon
- Department of Manufacturing Systems and Design Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ching Ann Tee
- Critical Analytics for Manufacturing Personalized-Medicine Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Vinitha Denslin
- NUS Tissue Engineering Program, Life Sciences Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Daryl Jimian Lin
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- NUS Tissue Engineering Program, Life Sciences Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Eng Hin Lee
- Critical Analytics for Manufacturing Personalized-Medicine Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore, Singapore
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- NUS Tissue Engineering Program, Life Sciences Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Laurie A Boyer
- Critical Analytics for Manufacturing Personalized-Medicine Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore, Singapore
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jongyoon Han
- Critical Analytics for Manufacturing Personalized-Medicine Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore, Singapore
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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6
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Yao Y, Lin Y, Wu Z, Li Z, He X, Wu Y, Sun Z, Ding W, He L. Solute-particle separation in microfluidics enhanced by symmetrical convection. RSC Adv 2024; 14:1729-1740. [PMID: 38192326 PMCID: PMC10772704 DOI: 10.1039/d3ra07285a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
The utilization of microfluidic technology for miniaturized and efficient particle sorting holds significant importance in fields such as biology, chemistry, and healthcare. Passive separation methods, achieved by modifying the geometric shapes of microchannels, enable gentle and straightforward enrichment and separation of particles. Building upon previous discussions regarding the effects of column arrays on fluid flow and particle separation within microchips, we introduced a column array structure into an H-shaped microfluidic chip. It was observed that this structure enhanced mass transfer between two fluids while simultaneously intercepting particles within one fluid, satisfying the requirements for particle interception. This enhancement was primarily achieved by transforming the originally single-mode diffusion-based mass transfer into dual-mode diffusion-convection mass transfer. By further optimizing the column array, it was possible to meet the basic requirements of mass transfer and particle interception with fewer microcolumns, thereby reducing device pressure drop and facilitating the realization of parallel and high-throughput microfluidic devices. These findings have enhanced the potential application of microfluidic systems in clinical and chemical engineering domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yurou Yao
- Department of Thermal Science and Energy Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China Hefei 230026 China
| | - Yao Lin
- Department of Thermal Science and Energy Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China Hefei 230026 China
| | - Zerui Wu
- Department of Thermal Science and Energy Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China Hefei 230026 China
| | - Zida Li
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Medical School, Shenzhen University Shenzhen 518060 China
| | - Xuemei He
- Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China Hefei 230001 China
| | - Yun Wu
- Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China Hefei 230001 China
| | - Zimin Sun
- Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China Hefei 230001 China
| | - Weiping Ding
- Department of Electronic Engineering and Information Science, University of Science and Technology of China Hefei 230026 China
| | - Liqun He
- Department of Thermal Science and Energy Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China Hefei 230026 China
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Mukhamedshin A, Reddington RC, Dinh MTP, Abhishek K, Iqbal M, Manheim M, Gifford SC, Shevkoplyas SS. Rapid, label-free enrichment of lymphocytes in a closed system using a flow-through microfluidic device. Bioeng Transl Med 2024; 9:e10602. [PMID: 38193116 PMCID: PMC10771558 DOI: 10.1002/btm2.10602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2023] [Revised: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
The majority of adoptive cellular therapies are produced from peripheral mononuclear cells obtained via leukapheresis and further enriched for the cells of interest (e.g., T cells). Here, we present a first-of-its-kind closed system, which effectively removes ~85% of monocytes and ~88% of platelets, while recovering ~88% of concentrated T cells in a separate output stream, as the leukapheresis sample flows through a microfluidic device at 5 mL/min. The system is driven by a common peristaltic pump, enabled by a novel pressure wave dampener, and operates in a closed bag-to-bag configuration, without requiring any specialized, dedicated equipment. When compared to standard density gradient centrifugation on paired samples, the new system demonstrated a 1.5-fold increase in T cell recovery and a 2-fold reduction in inter-sample variability for this separation outcome. The T cell-to-monocyte ratio of the leukapheresis sample was increased to 20:1, whereas with density gradient processing it decreased to 2:1. As a result of superior purity and/or gentler processing, T cells enriched by the system showed a 2.7-times higher fold expansion during subsequent culture, and an overall 3.5-times higher cumulative yield. This centrifugation-free and label-free closed system for enriching lymphocytes could significantly simplify and standardize the manufacturing of life-saving cellular therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anton Mukhamedshin
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringUniversity of HoustonHoustonTexasUSA
| | | | - Mai T. P. Dinh
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringUniversity of HoustonHoustonTexasUSA
| | - Kumar Abhishek
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringUniversity of HoustonHoustonTexasUSA
| | - Mubasher Iqbal
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringUniversity of HoustonHoustonTexasUSA
| | - Marc Manheim
- Halcyon Biomedical, IncorporatedFriendswoodTexasUSA
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Torres-Castro K, Acuña-Umaña K, Lesser-Rojas L, Reyes DR. Microfluidic Blood Separation: Key Technologies and Critical Figures of Merit. MICROMACHINES 2023; 14:2117. [PMID: 38004974 PMCID: PMC10672873 DOI: 10.3390/mi14112117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Revised: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023]
Abstract
Blood is a complex sample comprised mostly of plasma, red blood cells (RBCs), and other cells whose concentrations correlate to physiological or pathological health conditions. There are also many blood-circulating biomarkers, such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and various pathogens, that can be used as measurands to diagnose certain diseases. Microfluidic devices are attractive analytical tools for separating blood components in point-of-care (POC) applications. These platforms have the potential advantage of, among other features, being compact and portable. These features can eventually be exploited in clinics and rapid tests performed in households and low-income scenarios. Microfluidic systems have the added benefit of only needing small volumes of blood drawn from patients (from nanoliters to milliliters) while integrating (within the devices) the steps required before detecting analytes. Hence, these systems will reduce the associated costs of purifying blood components of interest (e.g., specific groups of cells or blood biomarkers) for studying and quantifying collected blood fractions. The microfluidic blood separation field has grown since the 2000s, and important advances have been reported in the last few years. Nonetheless, real POC microfluidic blood separation platforms are still elusive. A widespread consensus on what key figures of merit should be reported to assess the quality and yield of these platforms has not been achieved. Knowing what parameters should be reported for microfluidic blood separations will help achieve that consensus and establish a clear road map to promote further commercialization of these devices and attain real POC applications. This review provides an overview of the separation techniques currently used to separate blood components for higher throughput separations (number of cells or particles per minute). We present a summary of the critical parameters that should be considered when designing such devices and the figures of merit that should be explicitly reported when presenting a device's separation capabilities. Ultimately, reporting the relevant figures of merit will benefit this growing community and help pave the road toward commercialization of these microfluidic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karina Torres-Castro
- Biophysical and Biomedical Measurements Group, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA;
- Theiss Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Katherine Acuña-Umaña
- Medical Devices Master’s Program, Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica (ITCR), Cartago 30101, Costa Rica
| | - Leonardo Lesser-Rojas
- Research Center in Atomic, Nuclear and Molecular Sciences (CICANUM), San José 11501, Costa Rica;
- School of Physics, Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR), San José 11501, Costa Rica
| | - Darwin R. Reyes
- Biophysical and Biomedical Measurements Group, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA;
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9
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Lee LM, Bhatt KH, Haithcock DW, Prabhakarpandian B. Blood component separation in straight microfluidic channels. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2023; 17:054106. [PMID: 37854890 PMCID: PMC10581738 DOI: 10.1063/5.0176457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
Separation of blood components is required in many diagnostic applications and blood processes. In laboratories, blood is usually fractionated by manual operation involving a bulk centrifugation equipment, which significantly increases logistic burden. Blood sample processing in the field and resource-limited settings cannot be readily implemented without the use of microfluidic technology. In this study, we developed a small footprint, rapid, and passive microfluidic channel device that relied on margination and inertial focusing effects for blood component separation. No blood dilution, lysis, or labeling step was needed as to preserve sample integrity. One main innovation of this work was the insertion of fluidic restrictors at outlet ports to divert the separation interface into designated outlet channels. Thus, separation efficiency was significantly improved in comparison to previous works. We demonstrated different operation modes ranging from platelet or plasma extraction from human whole blood to platelet concentration from platelet-rich plasma through the manipulation of outlet port fluidic resistance. Using straight microfluidic channels with a high aspect ratio rectangular cross section, we demonstrated 95.4% platelet purity extracted from human whole blood. In plasma extraction, 99.9% RBC removal rate was achieved. We also demonstrated 2.6× concentration of platelet-rich plasma solution to produce platelet concentrate. The extraction efficiency and throughput rate are scalable with continuous and clog-free recirculation operation, in contrast to other blood fractionation approaches using filtration membranes or affinity-based purification methods. Our microfluidic blood separation method is highly tunable and versatile, and easy to be integrated into multi-step blood processing and advanced sample preparation workflows.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lap Man Lee
- CFD Research Corporation, Huntsville, Alabama 35806, USA
| | - Ketan H. Bhatt
- CFD Research Corporation, Huntsville, Alabama 35806, USA
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10
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Rey Gomez LM, Hirani R, Care A, Inglis DW, Wang Y. Emerging Microfluidic Devices for Sample Preparation of Undiluted Whole Blood to Enable the Detection of Biomarkers. ACS Sens 2023; 8:1404-1421. [PMID: 37011238 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.2c02696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/05/2023]
Abstract
Blood testing allows for diagnosis and monitoring of numerous conditions and illnesses; it forms an essential pillar of the health industry that continues to grow in market value. Due to the complex physical and biological nature of blood, samples must be carefully collected and prepared to obtain accurate and reliable analysis results with minimal background signal. Examples of common sample preparation steps include dilutions, plasma separation, cell lysis, and nucleic acid extraction and isolation, which are time-consuming and can introduce risks of sample cross-contamination or pathogen exposure to laboratory staff. Moreover, the reagents and equipment needed can be costly and difficult to obtain in point-of-care or resource-limited settings. Microfluidic devices can perform sample preparation steps in a simpler, faster, and more affordable manner. Devices can be carried to areas that are difficult to access or that do not have the resources necessary. Although many microfluidic devices have been developed in the last 5 years, few were designed for the use of undiluted whole blood as a starting point, which eliminates the need for blood dilution and minimizes blood sample preparation. This review will first provide a short summary on blood properties and blood samples typically used for analysis, before delving into innovative advances in microfluidic devices over the last 5 years that address the hurdles of blood sample preparation. The devices will be categorized by application and the type of blood sample used. The final section focuses on devices for the detection of intracellular nucleic acids, because these require more extensive sample preparation steps, and the challenges involved in adapting this technology and potential improvements are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rena Hirani
- Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, Sydney, New South Wales 2015, Australia
| | - Andrew Care
- School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, New South Wales 2007, Australia
| | - David W Inglis
- School of Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering and △School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
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11
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Sun Z, Qi J, Shen Y, Yang N, Liu S, Wang A, Wang C, Tang J. Collection, nucleic acid release, amplification, and visualization platform for rapid field detection of rice false smut. LAB ON A CHIP 2023; 23:542-552. [PMID: 36647749 DOI: 10.1039/d2lc01166b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Rice false smut (RFS) has brought serious food safety problems to the world. Reliable diagnostic tools are needed for the field detection of RFS. Traditional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is inefficient due to sample transport and preparation, which cannot adapt to the needs of field detection. Herein, we successfully developed a simple, portable microfluidic test platform to rapidly detect RFS. To simplify the operation, we integrated spore purification, nucleic acid release, and amplification into one chip. A micro air pump was used to separate the spores from the impurities and complete the collection of the spores through the airflow. We rapidly lysed spores and released nucleic acids by the benzyl chloride method. The loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) products could be combined with SYBR Green I to observe the results visually. On-chip sample tests showed that the spore collection efficiency was approximately 78%. By providing on-chip detection results, the chip had 100% specificity and a detection limit of 100 copies/reaction. At the same time, the stability (CV < 5%) and quantitative ability (R2 = 0.989) of the chip were also guaranteed. Through the visual detection of large samples, the on-chip detection results were highly concordant with the classical RT-PCR detection results, and the detection timeliness was greatly enhanced. Compared with RT-PCR, the single-sample detection time was shortened by about twenty minutes. The proposed micro-diagnostic tool did not require any large end-point detection instruments and avoided the complicated operation of nucleic acid extraction. As a result, in the future, our microfluidic chip could be used for rapid and real-time monitoring and early warning of rice false smut spores in rice paddies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zongbao Sun
- Department of Food & Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
| | - Jiahao Qi
- Department of Food & Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
| | - Ye Shen
- Department of Food & Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
| | - Ning Yang
- School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China.
| | - Shuhua Liu
- China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China.
| | - Aiying Wang
- China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China.
| | - Cilin Wang
- China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China.
| | - Jian Tang
- China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China.
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12
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Aubry G, Lee HJ, Lu H. Advances in Microfluidics: Technical Innovations and Applications in Diagnostics and Therapeutics. Anal Chem 2023; 95:444-467. [PMID: 36625114 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c04562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Aubry
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Hyun Jee Lee
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Hang Lu
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States.,Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
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13
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Grigorev GV, Lebedev AV, Wang X, Qian X, Maksimov GV, Lin L. Advances in Microfluidics for Single Red Blood Cell Analysis. BIOSENSORS 2023; 13:117. [PMID: 36671952 PMCID: PMC9856164 DOI: 10.3390/bios13010117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Revised: 12/04/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
The utilizations of microfluidic chips for single RBC (red blood cell) studies have attracted great interests in recent years to filter, trap, analyze, and release single erythrocytes for various applications. Researchers in this field have highlighted the vast potential in developing micro devices for industrial and academia usages, including lab-on-a-chip and organ-on-a-chip systems. This article critically reviews the current state-of-the-art and recent advances of microfluidics for single RBC analyses, including integrated sensors and microfluidic platforms for microscopic/tomographic/spectroscopic single RBC analyses, trapping arrays (including bifurcating channels), dielectrophoretic and agglutination/aggregation studies, as well as clinical implications covering cancer, sepsis, prenatal, and Sickle Cell diseases. Microfluidics based RBC microarrays, sorting/counting and trapping techniques (including acoustic, dielectrophoretic, hydrodynamic, magnetic, and optical techniques) are also reviewed. Lastly, organs on chips, multi-organ chips, and drug discovery involving single RBC are described. The limitations and drawbacks of each technology are addressed and future prospects are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgii V. Grigorev
- Data Science and Information Technology Research Center, Tsinghua Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China
- Mechanical Engineering Department, University of California in Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- School of Information Technology, Cherepovets State University, 162600 Cherepovets, Russia
| | - Alexander V. Lebedev
- Machine Building Department, Bauman Moscow State University, 105005 Moscow, Russia
| | - Xiaohao Wang
- Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Xiang Qian
- Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - George V. Maksimov
- Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia
- Physical metallurgy Department, Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education National Research Technological University “MISiS”, 119049 Moscow, Russia
| | - Liwei Lin
- Mechanical Engineering Department, University of California in Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
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14
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Xiang N, Ni Z. Inertial microfluidics: current status, challenges, and future opportunities. LAB ON A CHIP 2022; 22:4792-4804. [PMID: 36263793 DOI: 10.1039/d2lc00722c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Inertial microfluidics uses the hydrodynamic effects induced at finite Reynolds numbers to achieve passive manipulation of particles, cells, or fluids and offers the advantages of high-throughput processing, simple channel geometry, and label-free and external field-free operation. Since its proposal in 2007, inertial microfluidics has attracted increasing interest and is currently widely employed as an important sample preparation protocol for single-cell detection and analysis. Although great success has been achieved in the inertial microfluidics field, its performance and outcome can be further improved. From this perspective, herein, we reviewed the current status, challenges, and opportunities of inertial microfluidics concerning the underlying physical mechanisms, available simulation tools, channel innovation, multistage, multiplexing, or multifunction integration, rapid prototyping, and commercial instrument development. With an improved understanding of the physical mechanisms and the development of novel channels, integration strategies, and commercial instruments, improved inertial microfluidic platforms may represent a new foundation for advancing biomedical research and disease diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Xiang
- School of Mechanical Engineering, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, Southeast University, Nanjing, 211189, China.
| | - Zhonghua Ni
- School of Mechanical Engineering, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, Southeast University, Nanjing, 211189, China.
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15
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Li M, Ge C, Yang Y, Gan M, Xu Y, Chen L, Li S. Direct separation and enumeration of CTCs in viscous blood based on co-flow microchannel with tunable shear rate: a proof-of-principle study. Anal Bioanal Chem 2022; 414:7683-7694. [PMID: 36048191 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-022-04299-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Abstract
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), which have extremely low density in whole blood, are an important indicator of primary tumor metastasis. Isolation and enumeration of these cells are critical for clinical applications. Separation of CTCs from massive blood cells without labeling and addition of synthetic polymers is challenging. Herein, a novel well-defined co-flow microfluidic device is presented and used to separate CTCs in viscous blood by applying both inertial and viscoelastic forces. Diluted blood without any synthetic polymer and buffer solution were used as viscoelastic fluid and Newtonian fluid, respectively, and they were co-flowed in the designed chip to form a sheath flow. The co-flow system provides the function of particle pre-focusing and creates a tunable shear rate region at the interface to adjust the migration of particles or cells from the sample solution to the buffer solution. Successful separation of CTCs from viscous blood was demonstrated and enumeration was also conducted by image recognition after separation. The statistical results indicated that a recovery rate of cancer cells greater than 87% was obtained using the developed method, which proved that the direct separation of CTCs from diluted blood can be achieved without the addition of any synthetic polymer to prepare viscoelastic fluid. This method holds great promise for the separation of cells in viscous biological fluid without either complicated channel structures or the addition of synthetic polymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengnan Li
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology and Systems, Ministry of Education & Key Disciplines Laboratory of Novel Micro-Nano Devices and System Technology, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.,International R & D center of Micro-nano Systems and New Materials Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China
| | - Chuang Ge
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Translational Research for Cancer Metastasis and Individualized Treatment, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing, 400030, China
| | - Yuping Yang
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology and Systems, Ministry of Education & Key Disciplines Laboratory of Novel Micro-Nano Devices and System Technology, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China
| | - Minshan Gan
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology and Systems, Ministry of Education & Key Disciplines Laboratory of Novel Micro-Nano Devices and System Technology, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.,International R & D center of Micro-nano Systems and New Materials Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China
| | - Yi Xu
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology and Systems, Ministry of Education & Key Disciplines Laboratory of Novel Micro-Nano Devices and System Technology, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China. .,International R & D center of Micro-nano Systems and New Materials Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.
| | - Li Chen
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology and Systems, Ministry of Education & Key Disciplines Laboratory of Novel Micro-Nano Devices and System Technology, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.,International R & D center of Micro-nano Systems and New Materials Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China
| | - Shunbo Li
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology and Systems, Ministry of Education & Key Disciplines Laboratory of Novel Micro-Nano Devices and System Technology, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China. .,International R & D center of Micro-nano Systems and New Materials Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.
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16
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A high-throughput microfluidic device based on controlled incremental filtration to enable centrifugation-free, low extracorporeal volume leukapheresis. Sci Rep 2022; 12:13798. [PMID: 35963876 PMCID: PMC9376077 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-16748-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Leukapheresis, the extracorporeal separation of white blood cells (WBCs) from red blood cells (RBCs) and platelets (PLTs), is a life-saving procedure used for treating patients with cancer and other conditions, and as the initial step in the manufacturing of cellular and gene-based therapies. Well-tolerated by adults, leukapheresis poses a significant risk to neonates and low-weight infants because the extracorporeal volume (ECV) of standard centrifugation-based machines represents a particularly large fraction of these patients' total blood volume. Here we describe a novel high-throughput microfluidic device (with a void volume of 0.4 mL) based on controlled incremental filtration (CIF) technology that could replace centrifugation for performing leukapheresis. The CIF device was tested extensively using whole blood from healthy volunteers at multiple hematocrits (5-30%) and flow rates (10-30 mL/min). In the flow-through regime, the CIF device separated WBCs with > 85% efficiency and 10-15% loss of RBCs and PLTs while processing whole blood diluted with saline to 10% hematocrit at a flow rate of 10 mL/min. In the recirculation regime, the CIF device demonstrated a similar level of separation performance, virtually depleting WBCs in the recirculating blood (~ 98% reduction) by the end of a 3.5-hour simulated leukapheresis procedure. Importantly, the device operated without clogging or decline in separation performance, with minimal activation of WBCs and PLTs and no measurable damage to RBCs. Compared to the typical parameters of centrifugation-based leukapheresis, the CIF device had a void volume at least 100-fold smaller, removed WBCs about twice as fast, and lost ~ 2-3-fold fewer PLTs, while operating at a flow rate compatible with the current practice. The hematocrit and flow rate at which the CIF device operated were significantly higher than previously published for other microfluidic cell separation methods. Finally, this study is the first to demonstrate a highly efficient separation of cells from recirculating blood using a microfluidic device. Overall, these findings suggest the feasibility of using high-throughput microfluidic cell separation technology to ultimately enable centrifugation-free, low-ECV leukapheresis. Such a capability would be particularly useful in young children, a vulnerable group of patients who are currently underserved.
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17
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Cha H, Fallahi H, Dai Y, Yadav S, Hettiarachchi S, McNamee A, An H, Xiang N, Nguyen NT, Zhang J. Tuning particle inertial separation in sinusoidal channels by embedding periodic obstacle microstructures. LAB ON A CHIP 2022; 22:2789-2800. [PMID: 35587546 DOI: 10.1039/d2lc00197g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Inertial microfluidics functions solely based on the fluid dynamics at relatively high flow speed. Thus, channel geometry is the critical design parameter that contributes to the performance of the device. Four basic channel geometries (i.e., straight, expansion-contraction, spiral and serpentine) have been proposed and extensively studied. To further enhance the performance, innovative channel design through combining two or more geometries is promising. This work explores embedding periodic concave and convex obstacle microstructures in sinusoidal channels and investigates their influence on particle inertial focusing and separation. The concave obstacles could significantly enhance the Dean flow and tune the flow range for particle inertial focusing and separation. Based on this finding, we propose a cascaded device by connecting two sinusoidal channels consecutively for rare cell separation. The concave obstacles are embedded in the second channel to adapt its operational flow rates and enable the functional operation of both channels. Polystyrene beads and breast cancer cells (T47D) spiking in the blood were respectively processed by the proposed device. The results indicate an outstanding separation performance, with 3 to 4 orders of magnitude enhancement in purity for samples with a primary cancer cells ratio of 0.01% and 0.001%, respectively. Embedding microstructures as obstacles brings more flexibility to the design of inertial microfluidic devices, offering a feasible new way to combine two or more serial processing units for high-performance separation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haotian Cha
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
| | - Hedieh Fallahi
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
| | - Yuchen Dai
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
| | - Sharda Yadav
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
| | - Samith Hettiarachchi
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
| | - Antony McNamee
- Biorheology Research Laboratory, Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD 4222, Australia
| | - Hongjie An
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
| | - Nan Xiang
- School of Mechanical Engineering and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211189, PR China
| | - Nam-Trung Nguyen
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
| | - Jun Zhang
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
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18
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Xu X, Huang X, Sun J, Chen J, Wu G, Yao Y, Zhou N, Wang S, Sun L. 3D-Stacked Multistage Inertial Microfluidic Chip for High-Throughput Enrichment of Circulating Tumor Cells. CYBORG AND BIONIC SYSTEMS 2022; 2022:9829287. [PMID: 38645277 PMCID: PMC11030111 DOI: 10.34133/2022/9829287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2022] [Accepted: 06/26/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Whether for cancer diagnosis or single-cell analysis, it remains a major challenge to isolate the target sample cells from a large background cell for high-efficiency downstream detection and analysis in an integrated chip. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a 3D-stacked multistage inertial microfluidic sorting chip for high-throughput enrichment of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and convenient downstream analysis. In this chip, the first stage is a spiral channel with a trapezoidal cross-section, which has better separation performance than a spiral channel with a rectangular cross-section. The second and third stages adopt symmetrical square serpentine channels with different rectangular cross-section widths for further separation and enrichment of sample cells reducing the outlet flow rate for easier downstream detection and analysis. The multistage channel can separate 5 μm and 15 μm particles with a separation efficiency of 92.37% and purity of 98.10% at a high inlet flow rate of 1.3 mL/min. Meanwhile, it can separate tumor cells (SW480, A549, and Caki-1) from massive red blood cells (RBCs) with a separation efficiency of >80%, separation purity of >90%, and a concentration fold of ~20. The proposed work is aimed at providing a high-throughput sample processing system that can be easily integrated with flowing sample detection methods for rapid CTC analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- X. Xu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of RF Circuits and Systems, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, 310018 Zhejiang, China
| | - X. Huang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of RF Circuits and Systems, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, 310018 Zhejiang, China
| | - J. Sun
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of RF Circuits and Systems, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, 310018 Zhejiang, China
| | - J. Chen
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of RF Circuits and Systems, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, 310018 Zhejiang, China
| | - G. Wu
- Institute for Translational Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310029 Zhejiang, China
| | - Y. Yao
- Key Laboratory of 3D Micro/Nano Fabrication and Characterization of Zhejiang Province, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, 310024 Zhejiang, China
| | - N. Zhou
- Key Laboratory of 3D Micro/Nano Fabrication and Characterization of Zhejiang Province, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, 310024 Zhejiang, China
| | - S. Wang
- Institute for Translational Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310029 Zhejiang, China
- National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
- Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
- Institute for Advanced Study, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, China
| | - L. Sun
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of RF Circuits and Systems, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, 310018 Zhejiang, China
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19
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Jeon H, Wei M, Huang X, Yao J, Han W, Wang R, Xu X, Chen J, Sun L, Han J. Rapid and Label-Free Classification of Blood Leukocytes for Immune State Monitoring. Anal Chem 2022; 94:6394-6402. [PMID: 35416029 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c00906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
A fully automated and label-free sample-to-answer white blood cell (WBC) cytometry platform for rapid immune state monitoring is demonstrated. The platform integrates (1) a WBC separation process using the multidimensional double spiral (MDDS) device and (2) an imaging process where images of the separated WBCs are captured and analyzed. Using the deep-learning-based image processing technique, we analyzed the captured bright-field images to classify the WBCs into their subtypes. Furthermore, in addition to cell classification, we can detect activation-induced morphological changes in WBCs for functional immune assessment, which could allow the early detection of various diseases. The integrated platform operates in a rapid (<30 min), fully automated, and label-free manner. The platform could provide a promising solution to future point-of-care WBC diagnostics applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyungkook Jeon
- Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Maoyu Wei
- Ministry of Education Key Lab of RF Circuits and Systems, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Xiwei Huang
- Ministry of Education Key Lab of RF Circuits and Systems, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Jiangfan Yao
- Ministry of Education Key Lab of RF Circuits and Systems, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Wentao Han
- Ministry of Education Key Lab of RF Circuits and Systems, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Renjie Wang
- Ministry of Education Key Lab of RF Circuits and Systems, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Xuefeng Xu
- Ministry of Education Key Lab of RF Circuits and Systems, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Jin Chen
- Ministry of Education Key Lab of RF Circuits and Systems, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Lingling Sun
- Ministry of Education Key Lab of RF Circuits and Systems, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Jongyoon Han
- Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.,Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.,Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
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20
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Jeon H, Cremers C, Le D, Abell J, Han J. Multi-dimensional-double-spiral (MDDS) inertial microfluidic platform for sperm isolation directly from the raw semen sample. Sci Rep 2022; 12:4212. [PMID: 35273303 PMCID: PMC8913683 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08042-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Here, we propose a fully-automated platform using a spiral inertial microfluidic device for standardized semen preparation that can process patient-derived semen samples with diverse fluidic conditions without any pre-washing steps. We utilized the multi-dimensional double spiral (MDDS) device to effectively isolate sperm cells from other non-sperm seminal cells (e.g., leukocytes) in the semen sample. The recirculation platform was employed to minimize sample dependency and achieve highly purified and concentrated (up to tenfold) sperm cells in a rapid and fully-automated manner (~ 10 min processing time for 50 mL of diluted semen sample). The clinical (raw) semen samples obtained from healthy donors were directly used without any pre-washing step to evaluate the developed separation platform, which showed excellent performance with ~ 80% of sperm cell recovery, and > 99.95% and > 98% removal of 10-μm beads (a surrogate for leukocytes) from low-viscosity and high-viscosity semen samples, respectively. We expect that the novel platform will be an efficient and automated tool to achieve purified sperm cells directly from raw semen samples for assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) as an alternative to density centrifugation or swim-up methods, which often suffer from the low recovery of sperm cells and labor-intensive steps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyungkook Jeon
- Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Claudia Cremers
- Ohana Biosciences, 20 Acorn Park Dr, Cambridge, MA, 02140, USA
| | - Doris Le
- Ohana Biosciences, 20 Acorn Park Dr, Cambridge, MA, 02140, USA
| | - Justin Abell
- Ohana Biosciences, 20 Acorn Park Dr, Cambridge, MA, 02140, USA
| | - Jongyoon Han
- Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA. .,Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA. .,Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
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21
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Chen T, Huang C, Wang Y, Wu J. Microfluidic methods for cell separation and subsequent analysis. CHINESE CHEM LETT 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cclet.2021.07.067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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22
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Cha H, Fallahi H, Dai Y, Yuan D, An H, Nguyen NT, Zhang J. Multiphysics microfluidics for cell manipulation and separation: a review. LAB ON A CHIP 2022; 22:423-444. [PMID: 35048916 DOI: 10.1039/d1lc00869b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Multiphysics microfluidics, which combines multiple functional physical processes in a microfluidics platform, is an emerging research area that has attracted increasing interest for diverse biomedical applications. Multiphysics microfluidics is expected to overcome the limitations of individual physical phenomena through combining their advantages. Furthermore, multiphysics microfluidics is superior for cell manipulation due to its high precision, better sensitivity, real-time tunability, and multi-target sorting capabilities. These exciting features motivate us to review this state-of-the-art field and reassess the feasibility of coupling multiple physical processes. To confine the scope of this paper, we mainly focus on five common forces in microfluidics: inertial lift, elastic, dielectrophoresis (DEP), magnetophoresis (MP), and acoustic forces. This review first explains the working mechanisms of single physical phenomena. Next, we classify multiphysics techniques in terms of cascaded connections and physical coupling, and we elaborate on combinations of designs and working mechanisms in systems reported in the literature to date. Finally, we discuss the possibility of combining multiple physical processes and associated design schemes and propose several promising future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haotian Cha
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
| | - Hedieh Fallahi
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
| | - Yuchen Dai
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
| | - Dan Yuan
- Centre for Regional and Rural Futures, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria 3216, Australia
| | - Hongjie An
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
| | - Nam-Trung Nguyen
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
| | - Jun Zhang
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
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23
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Jeon H, Kwon T, Yoon J, Han J. Engineering a deformation-free plastic spiral inertial microfluidic system for CHO cell clarification in biomanufacturing. LAB ON A CHIP 2022; 22:272-285. [PMID: 34931631 DOI: 10.1039/d1lc00995h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Inertial microfluidics has enabled many impactful high throughput applications. However, devices fabricated in soft elastomer (i.e., polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)) suffer reliability issues due to significant deformation generated by the high pressure and flow rates in inertial microfluidics. In this paper, we demonstrated deformation-free and mass-producible plastic spiral inertial microfluidic devices for high-throughput cell separation applications. The design of deformable PDMS spiral devices was translated to their plastic version by compensating for the channel deformation in the PDMS devices, analyzed by numerical simulation and confocal imaging methods. The developed plastic spiral devices showed similar performance to their original PDMS devices for blood separation and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell retention. Furthermore, using a multiplexed plastic spiral unit containing 100 spirals, we successfully demonstrated ultra-high-throughput cell clarification (at a processing rate of 1 L min-1) with a high cell-clarification efficiency of ∼99% (at the cell density changing from ∼2 to ∼10 × 106 cells mL-1). Benefitting from the continuous and clogging-free separation with an industry-level throughput, the cell clarification device could be a critical breakthrough for the production of therapeutic biologics such as antibodies or vaccines, impacting biomanufacturing in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyungkook Jeon
- Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Taehong Kwon
- Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Junghyo Yoon
- Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Jongyoon Han
- Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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Jiang F, Xiang N. Integrated Microfluidic Handheld Cell Sorter for High-Throughput Label-Free Malignant Tumor Cell Sorting. Anal Chem 2022; 94:1859-1866. [PMID: 35020366 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c04819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Handheld sample preparation devices are urgently required for point-of-care diagnosis in resource-limited settings. In this paper, we develop a novel handheld sorter with a multifunction integrated microfluidic chip. The integrated microfluidic handheld sorter (μHCS) is composed of three units, including cartridges, shells, and core integrated microchip. The integrated microchip contains two flow regulators for achieving the on-chip regulation of the input flows generated by a low-cost diaphragm pump to the desired flow rates and a spiral inertial microfluidic channel for size-based cell separation. After introducing the conceptual design of our μHCS system, the performances of the separate spiral channel and flow regulator are systematically characterized and optimized, respectively. Finally, the prototype of the μHCS is successfully assembled to separate the malignant tumor cells from the clinical pleural effusions. Our μHCS is simple to use, inexpensive, portable, and compact and can be used for high-throughput label-free separation of rare cells from large volume samples in resource-limited areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fengtao Jiang
- School of Mechanical Engineering, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China.,School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Sydney, Darlington, New South Wales 2008, Australia
| | - Nan Xiang
- School of Mechanical Engineering, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
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Hassanpour Tamrin S, Sanati Nezhad A, Sen A. Label-Free Isolation of Exosomes Using Microfluidic Technologies. ACS NANO 2021; 15:17047-17079. [PMID: 34723478 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.1c03469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Exosomes are cell-derived structures packaged with lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. They exist in diverse bodily fluids and are involved in physiological and pathological processes. Although their potential for clinical application as diagnostic and therapeutic tools has been revealed, a huge bottleneck impeding the development of applications in the rapidly burgeoning field of exosome research is an inability to efficiently isolate pure exosomes from other unwanted components present in bodily fluids. To date, several approaches have been proposed and investigated for exosome separation, with the leading candidate being microfluidic technology due to its relative simplicity, cost-effectiveness, precise and fast processing at the microscale, and amenability to automation. Notably, avoiding the need for exosome labeling represents a significant advance in terms of process simplicity, time, and cost as well as protecting the biological activities of exosomes. Despite the exciting progress in microfluidic strategies for exosome isolation and the countless benefits of label-free approaches for clinical applications, current microfluidic platforms for isolation of exosomes are still facing a series of problems and challenges that prevent their use for clinical sample processing. This review focuses on the recent microfluidic platforms developed for label-free isolation of exosomes including those based on sieving, deterministic lateral displacement, field flow, and pinched flow fractionation as well as viscoelastic, acoustic, inertial, electrical, and centrifugal forces. Further, we discuss advantages and disadvantages of these strategies with highlights of current challenges and outlook of label-free microfluidics toward the clinical utility of exosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Hassanpour Tamrin
- Pharmaceutical Production Research Facility, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
- Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
- BioMEMS and Bioinspired Microfluidic Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, CCIT 125, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Amir Sanati Nezhad
- Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
- BioMEMS and Bioinspired Microfluidic Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, CCIT 125, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
- Center for Bioengineering Research and Education, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Arindom Sen
- Pharmaceutical Production Research Facility, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
- Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
- Center for Bioengineering Research and Education, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
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26
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Xu X, Huang X, Sun J, Wang R, Yao J, Han W, Wei M, Chen J, Guo J, Sun L, Yin M. Recent progress of inertial microfluidic-based cell separation. Analyst 2021; 146:7070-7086. [PMID: 34761757 DOI: 10.1039/d1an01160j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Cell separation has consistently been a pivotal technology of sample preparation in biomedical research. Compared with conventional bulky cell separation technologies applied in the clinic, cell separation based on microfluidics can accurately manipulate the displacement of liquid or cells at the microscale, which has great potential in point-of-care testing (POCT) applications due to small device size, low cost, low sample consumption, and high operating accuracy. Among various microfluidic cell separation technologies, inertial microfluidics has attracted great attention due to its simple structure and high throughput. In recent years, many researchers have explored the principles and applications of inertial microfluidics and developed different channel structures, including straight channels, curved channels, and multistage channels. However, the recently developed multistage channels have not been discussed and classified in detail compared with more widely discussed straight and curved channels. Therefore, in this review, a comprehensive and detailed review of recent progress in the multistage channel is presented. According to the channel structure, the inertial microfluidic separation technology is divided into (i) straight channel, (ii) curved channel, (iii) composite channel, and (iv) integrated device. The structural development of straight and curved channels is discussed in detail. And based on straight and curved channels, the multistage cell separation structures are reviewed, with a special focus on a variety of latest structures and related innovations of composite and integrated channels. Finally, the future prospects for the existing challenges in the development of inertial microfluidic cell separation technology are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuefeng Xu
- Key Laboratory of RF Circuits and Systems, Ministry of Education, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
| | - Xiwei Huang
- Key Laboratory of RF Circuits and Systems, Ministry of Education, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
| | - Jingjing Sun
- Key Laboratory of RF Circuits and Systems, Ministry of Education, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
| | - Renjie Wang
- Key Laboratory of RF Circuits and Systems, Ministry of Education, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
| | - Jiangfan Yao
- Key Laboratory of RF Circuits and Systems, Ministry of Education, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
| | - Wentao Han
- Key Laboratory of RF Circuits and Systems, Ministry of Education, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
| | - Maoyu Wei
- Key Laboratory of RF Circuits and Systems, Ministry of Education, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
| | - Jin Chen
- Key Laboratory of RF Circuits and Systems, Ministry of Education, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
| | - Jinhong Guo
- School of Communication and Information Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Lingling Sun
- Key Laboratory of RF Circuits and Systems, Ministry of Education, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
| | - Ming Yin
- The Second Medical Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China.
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Jeon H, Lee DH, Jundi B, Pinilla-Vera M, Baron RM, Levy BD, Voldman J, Han J. Fully Automated, Sample-to-Answer Leukocyte Functional Assessment Platform for Continuous Sepsis Monitoring via Microliters of Blood. ACS Sens 2021; 6:2747-2756. [PMID: 34185513 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.1c00887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
We report a fully automated, sample-to-answer, and label-free leukocyte activation analysis platform for monitoring immune responses in sepsis, by integrating the multidimensional double spiral (MDDS) and isodielectric separation (IDS) subplatforms. The integrated platform can provide rapid and fully automated identification of clinically diagnosed sepsis patients from only 50 μL of peripheral blood volume within 25 min. Many critical innovations were implemented in direct interconnection between the two subplatforms, such as intermediate sample storage and sample transfer, addressing flow rate mismatch (from mL/min to μL/min), and integration of a ridge array for upstream cell focusing in the IDS subplatform. The ridge array in the IDS subplatform can prevent the distortion of electrical profiling due to the residual red blood cells even after the MDDS process. We showed that the integrated platform can separate leukocytes (up to >99.9% red blood cell removal) in the MDDS subplatform and automatically transfer them to the downstream ridge-integrated IDS subplatform for their activation analysis without any apparent ex vivo cell activation and any human intervention. We also demonstrated that the integrated platform can identify differences between leukocytes from human sepsis and healthy subjects significantly (p = 0.0024, 95% confidence interval) by looking into differences in the intrinsic electrical properties of leukocytes. The integrated platform could enable monitoring of host leukocyte function daily or even hourly as a bedside assessment tool, which is currently a critical yet unmet need for managing many critical care patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyungkook Jeon
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), 77 Cheongam-Ro, Nam-Gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk 37673, the Republic of Korea
| | | | - Bakr Jundi
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Mayra Pinilla-Vera
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Rebecca M. Baron
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Bruce D. Levy
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
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Lu X, Tayebi M, Ai Y. A low-cost and high-throughput benchtop cell sorter for isolating white blood cells from whole blood. Electrophoresis 2021; 42:2281-2292. [PMID: 34010478 DOI: 10.1002/elps.202100024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Revised: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 05/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The ability to isolate and purify white blood cells (WBCs) from mixed ensembles such as blood would benefit autologous cell-based therapeutics as well as diagnosis of WBC disorders. Current WBCs isolation methods have the limitations of low purity or requiring complex and expensive equipment. In addition, due to the overlap in size distribution between lymphocytes (i.e., a sub-population of WBCs) and red blood cells (RBCs), it is challenging to achieve isolation of entire WBCs populations. In this work, we developed an inertial microfluidics-based cell sorter, which enables size-based, high-throughput isolation, and enrichment of WBCs from RBC-lysed whole blood. Using the developed inertial microfluidic chip, the sorting resolution is sharpened within 2 μm, which achieved separation between 3 and 5 μm diameter particles. Thus, with the present cell sorter, a full population of WBCs can be isolated from RBC-lysed blood samples with recovery ratio of 92%, and merely 5% difference in the composition percentage of the three subpopulations of granulocytes, monocytes, and lymphocytes compared to the original sample. Furthermore, our cell sorter is designed to enable broad application of size-based inertial cell sorting by supplying a series of microchips with different sorting cutoff size. This strategy allows us to further enrich the lymphocytes population by twofold using another microchip with a cutoff size between 10 and 15 μm. With simplicity and efficiency, our cell sorter provides a powerful platform for isolating and sorting of WBCs and also envisions broad potential sorting applications for other cell types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoguang Lu
- Engineering Product Development, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore
| | - Mahnoush Tayebi
- Engineering Product Development, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore
| | - Ye Ai
- Engineering Product Development, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore
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