Standing surface acoustic wave (SSAW)-based cell washing

• Published in: Lab on a chip Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 331 - 338
• Main Authors: Li, Sixing, Ding, Xiaoyun, Mao, Zhangming, Chen, Yuchao, Nama, Nitesh, Guo, Feng, Li, Peng, Wang, Lin, Cameron, Craig E., Huang, Tony Jun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 07.01.2015
• Subjects: Beads; Blood; Computer Simulation; Cytological Techniques - instrumentation; Cytological Techniques - methods; Devices; Equipment Design; Humans; Leukocytes - cytology; Mathematical analysis; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques - instrumentation; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques - methods; Microfluidics; Recovery; Sound; Surface acoustic waves; Washing
• ISSN: 1473-0197; 1473-0189; 1473-0189
• DOI: 10.1039/C4LC00903G

Cell/bead washing is an indispensable sample preparation procedure used in various cell studies and analytical processes. In this article, we report a standing surface acoustic wave (SSAW)-based microfluidic device for cell and bead washing in a continuous flow. In our approach, the acoustic radiation force generated in a SSAW field is utilized to actively extract cells or beads from their original medium. A unique configuration of tilted-angle standing surface acoustic wave (taSSAW) is employed in our device, enabling us to wash beads with >98% recovery rate and >97% washing efficiency. We also demonstrate the functionality of our device by preparing high-purity (>97%) white blood cells from lysed blood samples through cell washing. Our SSAW-based cell/bead washing device has the advantages of label-free manipulation, simplicity, high biocompatibility, high recovery rate, and high washing efficiency. It can be useful for many lab-on-a-chip applications.