Impedimetric Cell Detection using Microfluidic Viscoelastic Focusing

Year 2019, Volume: 11 Issue: 2, 612 - 619, 30.06.2019

Çağlar Elbüken

https://doi.org/10.29137/umagd.532269

Abstract

Identification and successive separation of cell
populations have a vast number of applications in both clinical research and
basic sciences. In the last few decades several custom-made microfluidic
systems have been developed to address the differentiation needs of the
researchers. For all these systems there is a need for focusing the cells of
interest in the interrogation zone during the flow. In this article, a new
method of viscoelastic focusing was used for this purpose. By adding polymeric
materials into the carrying fluid, elastic lift force was generated on the
cells that allows passive particle focusing. Once the cells are aligned with
the sensor, detection and identification was achieved using impedance
characterization. The carrier fluid properties were investigated to achieve
successful viscoelastic focusing and impedimetric detection. Two blood cell
types, red blood cells and white blood cells, were differentiated based on
their impedance signal. In addition to its capability as a microfluidic cell
counter, this work reveals the possibility of using viscoelastic focusing for
flow through impedance based particle characterization.

Keywords

Microfluidics, cell counting, impedance detection, viscoelastic focusing

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