Disposable Microfluidic Cell Sorter Using Electric and Magnetic Fields
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cell sorting technologies, such as FACS, are bulky, complex, and difficult to adapt for clinical use due to contamination risks and require extensive cleaning, limiting their adoption in therapeutic applications.
Innovation Solution
A compact, disposable microfluidics-based cell sorting chip utilizing CCD imaging, electric force capture, and magnetic field release technologies for parallel single-cell analysis and sorting, reducing contamination risks and increasing flexibility and efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional FACS instruments are used for cell sorting, then cell sorting capability is achieved, but device complexity and bulkiness increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical FACS instrumentation with a microfluidics-based system that uses electric fields and magnetic fields for cell manipulation. The microfluidic chip integrates cell capture, imaging, and sorting functions in a compact platform, eliminating the need for bulky mechanical components while maintaining cell sorting capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention nests multiple functional components within a single microfluidic chip, including cell capture electrodes, magnetic beads, imaging chambers, and sorting electrodes. This nested integration allows the entire cell sorting system to be contained in a compact disposable chip, dramatically reducing device complexity and bulkiness.
2Reliability
If conventional FACS instruments are used for cell sorting, then cell purification is achieved, but contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs disposable microfluidic chips that are discarded after a single use. This eliminates cross-contamination between samples and eliminates the need for extensive cleaning procedures between runs, directly addressing the contamination risk inherent in reusable FACS instruments.
3Measurement precision
If conventional FACS instruments are used for cell sorting, then cell analysis is achieved, but adaptability for clinical use decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The disposable nature of the microfluidic chip makes the system adaptable for clinical use by eliminating contamination risks between patients, simplifying regulatory approval, and enabling easy deployment in clinical settings without extensive maintenance or cleaning protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The replacement of complex mechanical systems with field-based manipulation (electric and magnetic fields) in a compact microfluidic platform enables the system to be adapted for various clinical applications, including point-of-care diagnostics and therapeutic cell sorting.
4Productivity
If conventional FACS instruments are used for cell sorting, then sorting speed is achieved, but iterative cost and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The disposable chip eliminates time-consuming cleaning and preparation procedures between samples, allowing rapid sequential processing of multiple samples. Each chip can be quickly replaced without maintenance downtime, significantly reducing iterative time.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables rapid, cost-effective, and reliable cell sorting with increased flexibility, capable of sorting thousands of cells per second, reducing iterative costs and time, while minimizing contamination risks, making it suitable for clinical and research applications.
Implementation Method 1
Cells of interest are pre-bonded to magnetized beads and irrelevant cells are removed by applying a magnetic field to the microfluidic chip
Implementation Method 2
An electric field is then applied to the microfluidic chip to cause the cells of interest to be captured at the surface of an array of electrodes
Implementation Method 3
The cells are imaged by a CCD detector array that is optically coupled to the array of electrodes
Implementation Method 4
The magnetic field is then reapplied to the microfluidic chip to release the cells from the electrodes and the cells are sorted into separate collection ports
Data Source
AI summary
A disposable rapid cell sorter comprises a microfluidic chip with electrodes and sorts biological cells of interest though a magnetic field and an electric field based on biological cell functional antibody bonded magnetic beads and luminescent labeling.