Flow length-dependent evaluation of separation and concentration functions of microfluidic chips for allergy testing using pseudo-cells

Abstract

In this study, we investigate the channel length dependence of the cell separation and concentration functions of microfluidic chips using pseudo-cells as a preliminary experiment before the real cells. It is necessary to separate necessary cells from a small sample and measure high concentrations of cells in medical applications. To realize this with microfluidic chips, it is necessary to equip the microfluidic channels with cell separation and cell concentration functions and to optimize their performance. We first conducted experiments to evaluate the transport and separation rates of pseudo-cells (latex particles) on a microfluidic chip and compared them with data from real cells. We then assessed the channel length dependence of cell separation and concentration functions. The experimental results demonstrated the possibility of performing separation and transport experiments using pseudo-cells. Additionally, there was no significant dependence of cell separation rate on the channel length for channels longer than 15.5 mm.