The Origins and the Current Applications of Microfluidics-Based Magnetic Cell Separation Technologies

Abstract

The magnetic separation of cells based on certain traits has a wide range of applications in microbiology, immunology, oncology, and hematology. Compared to bulk separation, performing magnetophoresis at micro scale presents advantages such as precise control of the environment, larger magnetic gradients in miniaturized dimensions, operational simplicity, system portability, high-throughput analysis, and lower costs. Since the first integration of magnetophoresis and microfluidics, many different approaches have been proposed to magnetically separate cells from suspensions at the micro scale. This review paper aims to provide an overview of the origins of microfluidic devices for magnetic cell separation and the recent technologies and applications grouped by the targeted cell types. For each application, exemplary experimental methods and results are discussed.

Applications of magnetic and electromagnetic forces in micro-analytical systems

“…In this regard, functional MNPs have been designed and synthesized as highly sensitive analytical probes for biosensing. 22 A high magnetic field and/or high magnetic field gradient are generally preferred to attain high performance in magneto-analytical methods. Electromagnets (<1 T) or superconducting magnets (5-15 T) are suitable to serve a homogeneous magnetic field, but small permanent magnets (<0.5 T) are commonly used for micro-analytical and electrochemical systems because of their excellent usability in small instruments.…”

“…In this regard, functional MNPs have been designed and synthesized as highly sensitive analytical probes for biosensing. 22…”

“…[7][8][9][10][11] Especially, the application of magnetic nanoparticles or nanocomposites have become an emerging topic. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] In this review article, we revisit some pioneering works briefly, and then introduce recent attractive studies in the last two decades on the applications of magnetic forces and electromagnetic forces in the broad field of analytical chemistry. Finally, we comment on the prospects of this new field of magneto-analytical science.…”

Application of Microfluidics in Detection of Circulating Tumor Cells

“…Overall, the advantage of the negative enrichment strategy over positive selection is that the rate of recovered CTCs is higher. However, the separation purity is usually lower than that of the positive method, requiring multiple separation processes ( Kang et al, 2019 ; Civelekoglu et al, 2022 ).…”

Pumpless deterministic lateral displacement separation using a paper capillary wick

“…Microfluidic devices typically require expensive equipment or complex actuators to drive the fluids. [1][2][3] This has resulted in evolution of pumpless microfluidics. [4][5][6][7][8] They are not pumpfree, but rather rely on passive pumping techniques that are often integrated into the device.…”