Abstract
Acoustophoretic blood plasma separation is based on cell enrichment processes driven by acoustic radiation forces. The combined influence of hematocrit and hydrodynamics has not yet been quantified in the literature for these processes acoustically induced on blood. In this paper, we present an experimental study of blood samples exposed to ultrasonic standing waves at different hematocrit percentages and hydrodynamic conditions, in order to enlighten their individual influence on the acoustic response of the samples. The experiments were performed in a glass capillary (700 µm-square cross section) actuated by a piezoelectric ceramic at a frequency of 1.153 MHz, hosting 2D orthogonal half-wavelength resonances transverse to the channel length, with a single-pressure-node along its central axis. Different hematocrit percentages Hct = 2.25%, 4.50%, 9.00%, and 22.50%, were tested at eight flow rate conditions of Q = 0:80 µL/min. Cells were collected along the central axis driven by the acoustic radiation force, releasing plasma progressively free of cells. The study shows an optimal performance in a flow rate interval between 20 and 80 µL/min for low hematocrit percentages Hct ≤ 9.0%, which required very short times close to 10 s to achieve cell-free plasma in percentages over 90%. This study opens new lines for low-cost personalized blood diagnosis.
Highlights
Blood is a complex biological fluid containing approximately 45% cellular components suspended in plasma (5 billion cells per milliliter of blood) and it represents an active indicator of various pathological disorders [1,2]
We present an experimental study of blood samples exposed to ultrasonic standing waves at different hematocrit percentages and hydrodynamic conditions, in order to enlighten their individual influence on the acoustic response of the samples
This work analyzes the double influence of hematocrit and hydrodynamics on the response of blood to external forces generated by ultrasounds in processes of acoustic blood plasmapheresis
Summary
Blood is a complex biological fluid containing approximately 45% cellular components suspended in plasma (5 billion cells per milliliter of blood) and it represents an active indicator of various pathological disorders [1,2]. Over the last decade, unprecedented advances have been reported in developing novel microfabrication techniques and microfluidic devices for blood separation [4–18]. Microfabrication techniques have facilitated the proliferation of in vitro studies on blood flows where the use of microfluidic models addressed questions pertaining to the role of microvascular morphology [19,20], blood viscosity [21,22], and hematocrit [23], as well as RBC deformation [24–26]. In these studies, blood is resuspended to a desired hematocrit (Hct) level in a buffer solution (ranging from non-physiological values of 10% and lower, to near-physiological values of 35%–50% [21,27] and higher). A major common challenge in blood plasma separation devices is the external stress acting on the cells, which causes hemolysis and makes diagnosis process difficult
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