Issue 5, 2023

Label-free microfluidic cell sorting and detection for rapid blood analysis

Abstract

Blood tests are considered as standard clinical procedures to screen for markers of diseases and health conditions. However, the complex cellular background (>99.9% RBCs) and biomolecular composition often pose significant technical challenges for accurate blood analysis. An emerging approach for point-of-care blood diagnostics is utilizing “label-free” microfluidic technologies that rely on intrinsic cell properties for blood fractionation and disease detection without any antibody binding. A growing body of clinical evidence has also reported that cellular dysfunction and their biophysical phenotypes are complementary to standard hematoanalyzer analysis (complete blood count) and can provide a more comprehensive health profiling. In this review, we will summarize recent advances in microfluidic label-free separation of different blood cell components including circulating tumor cells, leukocytes, platelets and nanoscale extracellular vesicles. Label-free single cell analysis of intrinsic cell morphology, spectrochemical properties, dielectric parameters and biophysical characteristics as novel blood-based biomarkers will also be presented. Next, we will highlight research efforts that combine label-free microfluidics with machine learning approaches to enhance detection sensitivity and specificity in clinical studies, as well as innovative microfluidic solutions which are capable of fully integrated and label-free blood cell sorting and analysis. Lastly, we will envisage the current challenges and future outlook of label-free microfluidics platforms for high throughput multi-dimensional blood cell analysis to identify non-traditional circulating biomarkers for clinical diagnostics.

Graphical abstract: Label-free microfluidic cell sorting and detection for rapid blood analysis

Article information

Article type
Critical Review
Submitted
27 sen 2022
Accepted
10 yan 2023
First published
19 yan 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Lab Chip, 2023,23, 1226-1257

Label-free microfluidic cell sorting and detection for rapid blood analysis

N. Lu, H. M. Tay, C. Petchakup, L. He, L. Gong, K. K. Maw, S. Y. Leong, W. W. Lok, H. B. Ong, R. Guo, K. H. H. Li and H. W. Hou, Lab Chip, 2023, 23, 1226 DOI: 10.1039/D2LC00904H

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