A microfluidic device for partial cell separation and deformability assessment

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2013

Authors

Diana Pinho (Author) FEUP; Tomoko Yaginuma (Author) Other; Rui Lima (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: Biochip Journal

Vol. 7 No. 4

Pages: 367-374

ISSN: 1976-0280

Publisher: Springer Nature

Indexing

ISI Web of Science

Scopus

INSPEC

Associated Projects

ANEURYSM - ANEURYSM - Estudo Hemodinâmico em Aneurismas Cerebrais

CSD-Chip - CSD-Chip - Desenvolvimento de um biochip para a separação e deformação de células sanguíneas

Hemo-Networks - Hemo-Networks- Investigação experimental e numérica dos factores que influenciam o escoamento de sangue em redes microvasculares

Other information

DOI: 10.1007/s13206-013-7408-0

Abstract (EN): Blood flow in microcirculation shows several interesting phenomena that can be used to develop microfluidic devices for blood separation and analysis in continuous flow. In this study we present a novel continuous microfluidic device for partial extraction of red blood cells (RBCs) and subsequent measurement of RBC deformability. For this purpose, we use polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannels having different constrictions (25%, 50% and 75%) to investigate their effect on the cell-free layer (CFL) thickness and separation efficiency. By using a combination of image analysis techniques we are able to automatically measure the CFL width before and after an artificial constriction. The results suggest that the CFL width increases with enhancement of the constriction and contributes to partial cell separation. The subsequent measurements of RBCs deformation index reveal that the degree of deformation depends on the constriction geometries and hematocrit after the cell separation module. The proposed microfluidic device can be easily transformed into a simple, inexpensive and convenient clinical tool able to perform both RBC separation and deformability analysis in one single device. This would eliminate the need for external sample handling and thus reducing associated labor costs and potential human errors.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 8