• Faster, more efficient living cell separ

    From ScienceDaily@1:317/3 to All on Fri Feb 25 21:30:42 2022
    Faster, more efficient living cell separation achieved with new
    microfluidic chip

    Date:
    February 25, 2022
    Source:
    Hiroshima University
    Summary:
    A research team created a new way to sort living cells suspended in
    fluid using an all-in-one operation in a lab-on-chip that required
    only 30 minutes for the entire separation process. This device
    eliminated the need for labor-intensive sample pre-treatment and
    chemical tagging techniques while preserving the original structure
    of the cells. They constructed a prototype of a microfluidic chip
    that uses electric fields to gently coax cells in one direction or
    another in dielectrophoresis, a phenomenon or movement of neutral
    particles when they are subjected to an external non-uniform
    electric field.



    FULL STORY ==========================================================================
    A Japanese research team created a new way to sort living cells suspended
    in fluid using an all-in-one operation in a lab-on-chip that required
    only 30 minutes for the entire separation process. This device eliminated
    the need for labor-intensive sample pretreatment and chemical tagging techniques while preserving the original structure of the cells. They constructed a prototype of a microfluidic chip that uses electric fields
    to gently coax cells in one direction or another in dielectrophoresis,
    a phenomenon or movement of neutral particles when they are subjected
    to an external non-uniform electric field.


    ==========================================================================
    The Hiroshima University Office of Academic Research and
    Industry-Academia- Government and Community Collaboration, led by
    Professor Fumito Maruyama, published their findings on January 14 in
    iScience.

    Dielectrophoresis induces the motion of suspended particles, such as
    cells, by applying a non-uniform electric field. Since the strength of dielectrophoretic force depends on the size of the cell and its dielectric properties, this technique can be used to selectively separate cells
    based on these differences.

    In this paper, Maruyama and his team introduced the separation of two
    types of eukaryotic cells with the developed microfluidic chip that
    used dielectrophoresis.

    Dielectrophoresis could be particularly useful in separating living
    cells for medical research applications and the medical industry. Its
    most significant advantage over other methods is its simplicity.

    "In conventional cell separation methods such as commercially available
    cell sorters, cells are generally labeled with markers such as fluorescent substances or antibodies, and cells cannot be maintained in their original physical state," Maruyama said. "Therefore, separating differently sized
    cells using microfluidic channels and dielectrophoresis has been studied
    as a potentially great method for separating cells without labeling."
    Maruyama noted, "Dielectrophoresis cannot entirely replace existing
    separation methods such as centrifuge and polyester mesh filters. However,
    it opens the door to faster cell separation that may be useful in
    certain research and industrial areas, such as the preparation of cells
    for therapeutics, platelets, and cancer-fighting T-cells come to mind."
    Other common medical industry uses of cell separation include removing
    unwanted bacteria cells from donated blood and separating stem cells and
    their derivatives, which are crucial for developing stem cell therapies.

    "If enrichment of a certain cell type from a solution of two or more
    cell types is needed, our dielectrophoresis-based system is an excellent
    option as it can simply enable a continuous pass-through of a large
    number of cells. The enriched cells are then easily collected from an
    outlet port," Maruyama added.

    The process outlined by Maruyama and his colleagues was all-in-one.

    "The device eliminated sample pretreatment and established cell separation
    by all-in-one operation in a lab-on-chip, requiring only a small volume
    (0.5-1 mL) to enumerate the target cells and completing the entire
    separation process within 30 minutes. Such a rapid cell separation
    technique is in high demand by many researchers to promptly characterize
    the target cells," he said.

    "Future research may examine refinements, allowing us to use
    dielectrophoresis to target certain cell types with greater specificity." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Hiroshima_University. Note: Content
    may be edited for style and length.


    ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
    1. Kyoichi Oshiro, Yoshikazu Wakizaka, Masayo Takano, Takayuki Itoi,
    Hiroki
    Ohge, Kazumi Koba, Kyoko Yarimizu, So Fujiyoshi, Fumito Maruyama.

    Fabrication of a new all-in-one microfluidic dielectrophoresis
    integrated chip and living cell separation. iScience, 2022; 25
    (2): 103776 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.103776 ==========================================================================

    Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220225085909.htm

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