Abstract
The magnetic separation of cells based on certain traits has a wide range of applications in microbiology, immunology, oncology, and hematology. Compared to bulk separation, performing magnetophoresis at micro scale presents advantages such as precise control of the environment, larger magnetic gradients in miniaturized dimensions, operational simplicity, system portability, high-throughput analysis, and lower costs. Since the first integration of magnetophoresis and microfluidics, many different approaches have been proposed to magnetically separate cells from suspensions at the micro scale. This review paper aims to provide an overview of the origins of microfluidic devices for magnetic cell separation and the recent technologies and applications grouped by the targeted cell types. For each application, exemplary experimental methods and results are discussed.
Highlights
Separation Technologies.Magnetic cell separation, namely magnetophoresis, refers to the selective isolation of certain cell populations from a more complex, heterogeneous suspension with the aid of an external magnetic field targeting the magnetically susceptible components within the sample
Unlike lateral flow systems where the fluid flows within the plane of microfluidic features, Earhart et al [73] designed their system to operate like a conventional filter (Figure 8), in which the fluid flows normal to the plane of micropores
The separation of specific cells can be finely controlled by engineering the external magnetic magnetic field using neodymium permanent magnets or current-carrying wires, as well field using neodymium permanent magnets or current-carrying wires, as well as patterning as patterning ferromagnetic features on the substrate to concentrate the magnetic flux ferromagnetic features on the substrate to concentrate the magnetic flux wherever it is wherever it is desired
Summary
Namely magnetophoresis, refers to the selective isolation of certain cell populations from a more complex, heterogeneous suspension with the aid of an external magnetic field targeting the magnetically susceptible components within the sample. Magnetic separation in the macro domain has long been established for isolating cells populations such as RBCs [14,15,16,17], WBCs [18,19,20] and rosette-forming cells [21], as well as to separate ultra-fine particles [22] These technologies all used a high-gradient magnetic field to compensate for the miniscule magnetic susceptibility in their respective biological samples [23].
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