Issue 17, 2011

Automated cellular sample preparation using a Centrifuge-on-a-Chip

Abstract

The standard centrifuge is a laboratory instrument widely used by biologists and medical technicians for preparing cell samples. Efforts to automate the operations of concentration, cell separation, and solution exchange that a centrifuge performs in a simpler and smaller platform have had limited success. Here, we present a microfluidic chip that replicates the functions of a centrifuge without moving parts or external forces. The device operates using a purely fluid dynamic phenomenon in which cells selectively enter and are maintained in microscale vortices. Continuous and sequential operation allows enrichment of cancer cells from spiked blood samples at the mL min−1 scale, followed by fluorescent labeling of intra- and extra-cellular antigens on the cells without the need for manual pipetting and washing steps. A versatile centrifuge-analogue may open opportunities in automated, low-cost and high-throughput sample preparation as an alternative to the standard benchtop centrifuge in standardized clinical diagnostics or resource poor settings.

Graphical abstract: Automated cellular sample preparation using a Centrifuge-on-a-Chip

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 Apr 2011
Accepted
14 Jul 2011
First published
29 Jul 2011

Lab Chip, 2011,11, 2827-2834

Automated cellular sample preparation using a Centrifuge-on-a-Chip

A. J. Mach, J. H. Kim, A. Arshi, S. C. Hur and D. Di Carlo, Lab Chip, 2011, 11, 2827 DOI: 10.1039/C1LC20330D

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements