Passive microfluidic devices for cell separation

Biotechnol Adv. 2024 Jan 12;71:108317. doi: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2024.108317. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThe separation of specific cell populations is instrumental in gaining insights into cellular processes, elucidating disease mechanisms, and advancing applications in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, diagnostics, and cell therapies. Microfluidic methods for cell separation have propelled the field forward, benefitting from miniaturization, advanced fabrication technologies, a profound understanding of fluid dynamics governing particle separation mechanisms, and a surge in interdisciplinary investigations focused on diverse applications. Cell separation methodologies can be categorized according to their underlying separation mechanisms. Passive microfluidic separation systems rely on channel structures and fluidic rheology, obviating the necessity for external force fields to facilitate label-free cell separation. These passive approaches offer a compelling combination of cost-effectiveness and scalability when compared to active methods that depend on external fields to manipulate cells. This review delves into the extensive utilization of passive microfluidic techniques for cell separation, encompassing various strategies such as filtration, sedimentation, adhesion-based techniques, pinched flow fractionation (PFF), deterministic lateral displacement (DLD), inertial microfluidics, hydrophoresis, viscoelastic microfluidics, and hybrid microfluidics. Besides, ...

Source: Biotechnology Advances - January 14, 2024 Category: Biotechnology Authors: Tianlong Zhang Dino Di Carlo Chwee Teck Lim Tianyuan Zhou Guizhong Tian Tao Tang Amy Q Shen Weihua Li Ming Li Yang Yang Keisuke Goda Ruopeng Yan Cheng Lei Yoichiroh Hosokawa Yaxiaer Yalikun Source Type: research