Adams Jonathan D, Tom Soh H
Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
JALA Charlottesv Va. 2009 Dec 1;14(6):331-340. doi: 10.1016/j.jala.2009.06.003.
Sample preparation is often the most tedious and demanding step in an assay, but it also plays an essential role in determining the quality of results. As biological questions and analytical methods become increasingly sophisticated, there is a rapidly growing need for systems that can reliably and reproducibly separate cells and particles with high purity, throughput and recovery. Microfluidics technology represents a compelling approach in this regard, allowing precise control of separation forces for high performance separation in inexpensive, or even disposable, devices. In addition, microfluidics technology enables the fabrication of arrayed and integrated systems that operate either in parallel or in tandem, in a capacity that would be difficult to achieve in macro-scale systems. In this report, we use recent examples from our work to illustrate the potential of microfluidic cell- and particle-sorting devices. We demonstrate the potential of chip-based high-gradient magnetophoresis that enable high-purity separation through reversible trapping of target particles paired with high-stringency washing with minimal loss. We also describe our work in the development of devices that perform simultaneous multi-target sorting, either through precise control of magnetic and fluidic forces or through the integration of multiple actuation forces into a single monolithic device. We believe that such devices may serve as a powerful "front-end" module of highly integrated analytical platforms capable of providing actionable diagnostic information directly from crude, unprocessed samples - the success of such systems may hold the key to advancing point-of-care diagnostics and personalized medicine.
样品制备通常是分析中最繁琐且要求苛刻的步骤，但它在决定结果质量方面也起着至关重要的作用。随着生物学问题和分析方法日益复杂，对能够可靠且可重复地以高纯度、高通量和高回收率分离细胞和颗粒的系统的需求迅速增长。在这方面，微流控技术是一种极具吸引力的方法，它能在廉价甚至一次性的设备中精确控制分离力以实现高性能分离。此外，微流控技术能够制造以并行或串联方式运行的阵列式和集成系统，这是宏观尺度系统难以实现的。在本报告中，我们用我们工作中的最新实例来说明微流控细胞和颗粒分选设备的潜力。我们展示了基于芯片的高梯度磁泳技术的潜力，该技术通过对目标颗粒的可逆捕获以及高严格度的洗涤且损失最小化来实现高纯度分离。我们还描述了我们在开发通过精确控制磁力和流体动力或通过将多种驱动力集成到单个整体设备中来进行同步多目标分选的设备方面所做的工作。我们相信，此类设备可作为高度集成分析平台的强大“前端”模块，能够直接从原始、未处理的样品中提供可操作的诊断信息——此类系统的成功可能是推动即时诊断和个性化医疗的关键。
