Trapping single human osteoblast-like cells from a heterogeneous population using a dielectrophoretic microfluidic device

Abstract

We describe a system for the isolation, concentration, separation, and recovery of human osteoblast-like cells from a heterogeneous population using dielectrophoretic ring traps. Cells flowing in a microfluidic channel are immobilized inside an electric field cage using negative dielectrophoresis. A planar ring electrode creates a closed trap while repelling surrounding cells. Target cells are identified by fluorescent labeling, and are trapped as they pass across a ring electrode by an automated system. We demonstrate recovery of small populations of human osteoblast-like cells with a purity of 100%, which in turn demonstrates the potential of such a device for cell selection from a heterogeneous population.

Cellular dielectrophoresis: Applications to the characterization, manipulation, separation and patterning of cells

“…The traps were shown to be compatible in high conductivity (1.9 mS/m) buffer and used to trap individual HeLa cells. Recently, the same research group utilized this design to trap single human osteoblast-like cells from a heterogeneous population [73]. They were able to isolate small-populations in an automated fashion with a purity of 100% by selectively trapping individual target cells in ring electrodes based on observed cell fluorescence measurements.…”

Dielectrophoresis in microfluidics technology

“…This unique dielectric signature can be utilized to discriminate and identify cells from the other particles or to detect and isolate diseased or damaged cells by means of AC-DEP (DEP force spectra of different cell types can be found elsewhere [118,144]). AC-DEP has been implemented for the separation of cancer cells from blood stream [17,18], the separation of red blood cells and polystyrene particles [19], the separation of human leukocytes [20], the isolation of the malaria-infected cells from the blood [21,22], the separation of the electroporated and non-electroporated cells [23], the separation of the platelets from diluted whole blood [24], the separation of red blood cells and the white blood cells [25], the separation [26][27][28] and sorting [29] of viable and nonviable yeast cells, the separation of healthy and unhealthy oocyte cells [30], the characterization and the sorting stem cells and their differentiated progeny [31], the isolation of rare cells from biological fluids [32], the separation of three distinct bacterial clones of commonly used E. coli MC1061 strain [33], trapping of viable mammalian fibroplast cells [34], trapping of DNA molecules [35], trapping of single cancer and endothelial cells to investigate pairwise cell interactions [36], trapping of bacterial cells for the subsequent electrodisruption or electroporation [37], focusing of polystyrene particles [38], trapping of yeast cells [39], 3-D focusing of polystyrene particles and yeast cells [40], the separation of airborne bacterium, Micrococcus luteus, from a mixture with dust and polystyrene beads [41], trapping and isolation of human stem cell from heterogeneous solution [42], single-cell isolation [43], concentration and counting of polystyrene particles [44], the separation of polystyrene particles, Jurkat cells and HeLa cells …”

Circulating tumor-cell detection and capture using microfluidic devices

“…Metallic microelectrodes with various geometries can be used {e.g. interdigitated [52], castellated [53], oblique [54], spiral [55], circular [56], ring shape [57], and wedge shape [58], that are patterned on a microfluidic wafer using conventional lithography techniques}.…”