High Throughput Cell-Free Extraction of Plasma by an Integrated Microfluidic Device Combining Inertial Microfluidics and Membrane

Abstract

Plasma is a host of various analytes such as proteins, metabolites, circulating nucleic acids (CNAs), pathogens. The key process of plasma extraction is to eliminate the contamination from blood cells. Conventional methods, such as centrifugation and membrane filtration, are generally lab-intensive, time consuming and even dangerous. In this study, we report an integrated microfluidic device that combines inertial microfluidics and membrane filter. The integrated microfluidic device was evaluated by the diluted (x1/10, x1/20) whole blood, and the quality of the extracted blood plasma was tested. It was found that quality of extracted blood plasma from integrated device was equivalent to that obtained by the centrifugation. This study demonstrates a significant progress towards the practical application of inertial microfluidics with membrane filter for high-throughput and high efficient blood plasma extraction.