Microfluidics for Cell Sorting and Separation

Isolating and sorting one or more specific cell populations from complex, heterogeneous mixtures are a critical enabling technology in molecular and cellular biology, biotechnology, and medicine. Conventional cell sorting techniques such as fluorescently activated cell sorting (FACS) or magnetically activated cell sorting (MACS) require multiple steps of sample preparation which leads to increased risk of cross-contamination. Featuring high speed and efficiency, easy operation, microfluidics technology gradually replaces conventional methods.

Advantages of Cell Sorting and Separation with Microfluidic Devices

• Small volumes of samples and reagents required for use.
• Eliminate potentially biohazardous aerosols.
• Simplify the complex protocols commonly associated with cell sorting.

Microfluidics for Cell Sorting and Separation

Microfluidic methods for cell sorting can be divided into active and passive systems.

• Passive Microfluidics
  • Inertial Microfluidic: Inertial microfluidic sorting system take advantage of inertial force or dean force that cell experience in microfluidic channels for separating of cells.
  • Deterministic Lateral Displacement: Deterministic Lateral Displacement chips use an array of posts or pillars to increase the distance between large cells and smaller cells to realize the final separation of cells.
  • Microfiltration: Microfiltration is the simplest method for cell sorting. Filters embedded in the microfluidics channel allow cells smaller than a particular size to pass and filter larger cells, therefore achieving sorting and separation of cells.

• Active Microfluidics: Microfluidic chips integrated with various external sources such as acoustic, magnetic or electric allow efficient, accurate and specific cell sorting.
  • Acoustophoresis: Acoustophoretic microfluidic system uses interdigital transducers to generate acoustic waves which create pressure nodes along the microchannels. These pressure nodes cause cells with different sizes to move to different location.
  • Magnetophoresis: The cells are labelled and attached to magnetic beads. The magnet positioned near the channel exerts a magnetic force on the labelled cells. The force depends on the cell size. Thus, the larger cells lie closer to the wall than the smaller cells.
  • Dielectrophoresis: Dielectrophoretic microfluidic sorting system uses electrodes to generate a non-uniform electric field to which polarizable cells with different dielectric properties respond differently. The dielectrophoretic microfluidic sorting system employ this difference to achieve sorting and separation of cells.

What We Can Do for You

• Screening of environmental microorganisms
• Sorting of cellular tissue, cancer cells, stem cells, germ cells, cultured cell lines, blood cells, etc.
• Sorting of protists, cell masses, and plant cells
• Sorting of water-in-oil emulsion droplets

For more information about our cell sorting and separation service, please contact us.