Abstract
Blood tests provide crucial diagnostic information regarding several diseases. A key factor that affects the precision and accuracy of blood tests is the interference of red blood cells; however, the conventional methods of blood separation are often complicated and time consuming. In this study, we devised a simple but high-efficiency blood separation system on a self-strained microfluidic device that separates 99.7 ± 0.3% of the plasma in only 6 min. Parameters, such as flow rate, design of the filter trench, and the relative positions of the filter trench and channel, were optimized through microscopic monitoring. Moreover, this air-difference-driven device uses a cost-effective and easy-to-use heater device that creates a low-pressure environment in the microchannel within minutes. With the aforementioned advantages, this blood separation device could be another platform choice for point-of-care testing.
Highlights
The inability to diagnose numerous diseases rapidly is a significant cause of deaths from both communicable and noncommunicable diseases in developing countries or areas with insufficient medical resources
We demonstrated a modified filter trench system to perform blood separation by using gravity sedimentation
We found that the geometry of filter trench and channel design significantly affect separation efficiency
Summary
The inability to diagnose numerous diseases rapidly is a significant cause of deaths from both communicable and noncommunicable diseases in developing countries or areas with insufficient medical resources. Blood tests provide crucial diagnostic information regarding several diseases, including cancer [1], Alzheimer disease [2], and sepsis [3]. The gold standard process for testing a patient’s blood requires expensive laboratory equipment and well-trained technicians; areas with constrained resources often lack even basic diagnostic equipment and trained personnel. Biosensors for various biomarkers, pathogens, or physiological signal detections are preferred for rapid clinical testing [4,5,6,7,8]. The main limitation of typical blood tests is that relatively high volumes (in mL) of blood samples, relatively long analysis times (>1 h), and complicated processing steps are required [9]. The behavior of blood cells, for example hemolysis and leukolysis, in the blood sample can affect
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