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Microfluidics for cell separation

  • Special Issue - Review
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Abstract

The need for efficient cell separation, an essential preparatory step in many biological and medical assays, has led to the recent development of numerous microscale separation techniques. This review describes the current state-of-the-art in microfluidics-based cell separation techniques. Microfluidics-based sorting offers numerous advantages, including reducing sample volumes, faster sample processing, high sensitivity and spatial resolution, low device cost, and increased portability. The techniques presented are broadly classified as being active or passive depending on the operating principles. The various separation principles are explained in detail along with popular examples demonstrating their application toward cell separation. Common separation metrics, including separation markers, resolution, efficiency, and throughput, of these techniques are discussed. Developing efficient microscale separation methods that offering greater control over cell population distribution will be important in realizing true point-of-care (POC) lab-on-a-chip (LOC) systems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. BioSystems and Micromechanics (BioSyM) IRG, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centre, S16-07-08, 3 Science Drive 2, Singapore, 117543, Singapore

    Ali Asgar S. Bhagat, Han Wei Hou, Jongyoon Han & Chwee Teck Lim

  2. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Hansen Bow & Jongyoon Han

  3. Division of Bioengineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Han Wei Hou, Swee Jin Tan & Chwee Teck Lim

  4. Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Jongyoon Han

  5. Division of Bioengineering and Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore, 117576, Singapore

    Chwee Teck Lim

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  1. Ali Asgar S. Bhagat
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Bhagat, A.A.S., Bow, H., Hou, H.W. et al. Microfluidics for cell separation. Med Biol Eng Comput 48, 999–1014 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-010-0611-4

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