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Using size and deformability as intrinsic biomarkers, we separate red blood cells (RBCs) from other blood components based on a repulsive hydrodynamic cell-wall-interaction. We exploit this purely viscous lift effect at low Reynolds numbers to induce a lateral migration of soft objects perpendicular to the streamlines of the fluid, which closely follows theoretical prediction by Olla [J. Phys. II 7, 1533, (1997)]. We study the effects of flow rate and fluid viscosity on the separation efficiency and demonstrate the separation of RBCs, blood platelets, and solid microspheres from each other. The method can be used for continuous and label-free cell classification and sorting in on-chip blood analysis.

We demonstrate the method of non-inertial lift induced cell sorting (NILICS), a continuous, passive, and label-free cell sorting approach in a simple single layer microfluidic device at low Reynolds number flow conditions. In the experiments, we exploit the non-inertial lift effect to sort circulating MV3-melanoma cells from red blood cell suspensions at different hematocrits as high as 9%. We analyze the separation process and the influence of hematocrit and volume flow rates. We achieve sorting efficiencies for MV3-cells up to E MV3 ¼ 100% at Hct ¼ 9% and demonstrate cell viability by recultivation of the sorted cells. V C 2013 AIP Publishing LLC. [http://dx

Cell adhesion processes are of ubiquitous importance for biomedical applications such as optimization of implant materials. Here, not only physiological conditions such as temperature or pH, but also topographical structures play crucial roles, as inflammatory reactions after surgery can diminish osseointegration. In this study, we systematically investigate cell adhesion under static, dynamic and physiologically relevant conditions employing a lab-on-a-chip system. We screen adhesion of the bone osteosarcoma cell line SaOs-2 on a titanium implant material for pH and temperature values in the physiological range and beyond, to explore the limits of cell adhesion, e.g., for feverish and acidic conditions. A detailed study of different surface roughness Rq gives insight into the correlation between the cells’ abilities to adhere and withstand shear flow and the topography of the substrates, finding a local optimum at Rq = 22 nm. We use shear stress induced by acoustic streaming to determine a measure for the ability of cell adhesion under an external force for various conditions. We find an optimum of cell adhesion for T = 37 °C and pH = 7.4 with decreasing cell adhesion outside the physiological range, especially for high T and low pH. We find constant detachment rates in the physiological regime, but this behavior tends to collapse at the limits of 41 °C and pH 4.

BackgroundUnderstanding of malaria pathogenesis caused by Plasmodium falciparum has been greatly deepened since the introduction of in vitro culture system, but the lack of a method to enrich ring-stage parasites remains a technical challenge. Here, a novel way to enrich red blood cells containing parasites in the early ring stage is described and demonstrated.MethodsA simple, straight polydimethylsiloxane microchannel connected to two syringe pumps for sample injection and two height reservoirs for sample collection is used to enrich red blood cells containing parasites in the early ring stage (8-10 h p.i.). The separation is based on the non-inertial hydrodynamic lift effect, a repulsive cell-wall interaction that enables continuous and label-free separation with deformability as intrinsic marker.ResultsThe possibility to enrich red blood cells containing P. falciparum parasites at ring stage with a throughput of ~12,000 cells per hour and an average enrichment factor of 4.3 ± 0.5 is demonstrated.ConclusionThe method allows for the enrichment of red blood cells early after the invasion by P. falciparum parasites continuously and without any need to label the cells. The approach promises new possibilities to increase the sensitivity of downstream analyses like genomic- or diagnostic tests. The device can be produced as a cheap, disposable chip with mass production technologies and works without expensive peripheral equipment. This makes the approach interesting for the development of new devices for field use in resource poor settings and environments, e.g. with the aim to increase the sensitivity of microscope malaria diagnosis.

We demonstrate continuous, passive, and label-free sorting of different in vitro cancer cell lines (MV3, MCF7, and HEPG2) as model systems for circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from undiluted whole blood employing the non-inertial lift effect as driving force. This purely viscous, repulsive cell-wall interaction is sensitive to cell size and deformability differences and yields highly efficient cell separation and high enrichment factors. We show that the performance of the device is robust over a large range of blood cell concentrations and flow rates as well as for the different cell lines. The collected samples usually contain more than 90% of the initially injected CTCs and exhibit average enrichment factors of more than 20 for sorting from whole blood samples.