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Low‐cost multi‐core inertial microfluidic centrifuge for high‐throughput cell concentration
Author(s) -
Xiang Nan,
Li Qiao,
Shi Zhiguo,
Zhou Chenguang,
Jiang Fengtao,
Han Yu,
Ni Zhonghua
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
electrophoresis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.666
H-Index - 158
eISSN - 1522-2683
pISSN - 0173-0835
DOI - 10.1002/elps.201900385
Subject(s) - centrifuge , throughput , microfluidics , materials science , chip , volumetric flow rate , channel (broadcasting) , nanotechnology , computer science , mechanics , physics , telecommunications , nuclear physics , wireless , computer network
We developed a low‐cost multi‐core inertial microfluidic centrifuge (IM‐centrifuge) to achieve a continuous‐flow cell/particle concentration at a throughput of up to 20 mL/min. To lower the cost of our IM‐centrifuge, we clamped a disposable multilayer film‐based inertial microfluidic (MFIM) chip with two reusable plastic housings. The key MFIM chip was fabricated in low‐cost materials by stacking different polymer‐film channel layers and double‐sided tape. To increase processing throughput, multiplexing spiral inertial microfluidic channels were integrated within an all‐in‐one MFIM chip, and a novel sample distribution strategy was employed to equally distribute the sample into each channel layer. Then, we characterized the focusing performance in the MFIM chip over a wide flow‐rate range. The experimental results showed that our IM‐centrifuge was able to focus various‐sized particles/cells to achieve volume reduction. The sample distribution strategy also effectively ensured identical focusing and concentration performances in different cores. Finally, our IM‐centrifuge was successfully applied to concentrate microalgae cells with irregular shapes and highly polydisperse sizes. Thus, our IM‐centrifuge holds the potential to be employed as a low‐cost, high‐throughput centrifuge for disposable use in low‐resource settings.