Microfluidic devices hold potential to rapidly analyze cells for applications in medicine and basic research. Researchers have devised systems that can distinguish cells based on their size, deformability, and electrical properties, among other characteristics.
A team of MIT researchers has now developed a new way to sort cells, based on their acoustic properties — that is, how they are affected by sound waves.
These acoustic properties rely on cell content and structure, and are independent of the cells’ size, so this method can be used to separate cell types of similar size. Another advantage to this approach is that it does not require altering the cells in any way with chemical labels.
This technique could potentially be used to develop a handheld device that would make it easier and faster to do a test known as a complete blood count (CBC). This test is often done to determine how many red blood cells and different types of white blood cells are present in a patient’s bloodstream, and this test currently requires blood samples to be sent to a lab for analysis.
The new device consists of a microfluidic channel that vibrates at a very low frequency. As cells flow through the channel, they are pushed to a certain position depending on how they interact with the acoustic forces generated by the vibration.
In addition to analyzing red and white blood cells, this technology could also be used for isolating tumor cells from a patient’s blood sample, perhaps to monitor the progression of cancer. The researchers also showed in this study that they can distinguish different types of tumor cells based on their acoustic properties.
