Dielectrophoresis Separation of Platelets Using a Novel Zigzag Microchannel

Abstract

Platelet separation and purification are required in many applications including in the detection and treatment of hemorrhagic and thrombotic diseases, in addition to transfusions and in medical research. In this study, platelet separation was evaluated using a novel zigzag microchannel fluidic device while leveraging a dielectrophoresis (DEP) electric field using the COMSOL multiphysics software package and additional experimentation. The zigzag-shaped microchannel was superior to straight channel devices for cell separation because the sharp corners reduced the required horizontal distance needed for separation and also contributed to an asymmetric DEP electric field. A perfect linear relationship was observed between the separation distance and the corner angles. A quadratic relationship (R2 = 0.99) was observed between the driving voltage and the width and the lengths of the channel, allowing for optimization of these properties. In addition, the voltage was inversely proportional to the channel width and proportional to the channel length. An optimal velocity ratio of 1:4 was identified for the velocities of the two device inlets. The proposed device was fabricated using laser engraving and lithography with optimized structures including a 0.5 mm channel width, a 120° corner angle, a 0.3 mm channel depth, and a 17 mm channel length. A separation efficiency of 99.4% was achieved using a voltage of 20 V and a velocity ratio of 1:4. The easy fabrication, lower required voltage, label-free detection, high efficiency, and environmental friendliness of this device make it suitable for point-of-care medicine and biological applications. Moreover, it can be used for the separation of other types of compounds including lipids.

Fluid-Screen as a real time dielectrophoretic method for universal microbial capture

“…There is a need for new technologies that allow for faster microbial detection and assessment of microbial contamination.Dielectrophoresis (DEP) has shown great promise for particle separation for decades (see excellent reviews [3][4][5] ). Several DEP systems show promising potential applications in medical sciences, including drug delivery or cancer diagnostics [6][7][8][9][10][11] . However, DEP has not yet been widely applied in clinical settings.…”

A review: Dielectrophoresis for characterizing and separating similar cell subpopulations based on bioelectric property changes due to disease progression and therapy assessment

“…Dielectrophoresis provides a label-free method that goes beyond size-based separations as well as a rapid detection method for diagnostics. Several studies have used dielectrophoresis for the separation of leukocytes or platelets from RBCs [70,71]. This review will focus on identifying and separating blood cell subpopulations and blood cell infection.…”

The Role of Dielectrophoresis in the Detection and Separation of Circulating Tumor Cells

“…Significant structural changes of the microchip architecture were explored in another study, where linear channels were transformed in zigzag-shaped microchannels. Advantages of this new structure comparative to classical ones was the reduction in the required horizontal distance needed for separation and the creation of an asymmetric DEP electric field, facilitating separation of platelets (Guan et al, 2020). Sometimes however, simpler designs may be also effective, such as the four-branch microfluidic device used to separate blood cells in four different categories (platelets, red blood cells, neutrophils, and large lymphocytes) upon their size (Zahedi Siani et al, 2020).…”