Acoustofluidic separation of cells and particles

Abstract

Acoustofluidics, the integration of acoustics and microfluidics, is a rapidly growing research field that is addressing challenges in biology, medicine, chemistry, engineering, and physics. In particular, acoustofluidic separation of biological targets from complex fluids has proven to be a powerful tool due to the label-free, biocompatible, and contact-free nature of the technology. By carefully designing and tuning the applied acoustic field, cells and other bioparticles can be isolated with high yield, purity, and biocompatibility. Recent advances in acoustofluidics, such as the development of automated, point-of-care devices for isolating sub-micron bioparticles, address many of the limitations of conventional separation tools. More importantly, advances in the research lab are quickly being adopted to solve clinical problems. In this review article, we discuss working principles of acoustofluidic separation, compare different approaches of acoustofluidic separation, and provide a synopsis of how it is being applied in both traditional applications, such as blood component separation, cell washing, and fluorescence activated cell sorting, as well as emerging applications, including circulating tumor cell and exosome isolation.

Acoustofluidics: From lab to clinic

Research into using sound waves to separate biological particles from fluid moving through tiny channels is rapidly advancing, but more is needed to develop real-life clinical applications. Tony Jun Huang of Duke University in the US and colleagues reviewed the latest studies in the rapidly growing field of ‘acoustofluidic separation’. While progress has been made in using the technology to separate micro-sized objects like cells and bacteria from fluids, few breakthroughs have been achieved for separating nanoparticles, like lipids and viruses. Also, advances are needed to speed up the separation process. Still, the field shows much promise for the development of label-free, point-of-care devices for cancer diagnosis, placental health monitoring, and isolating bacteria from water or food. Focusing on product development and technological improvements will enable this technology to find real-world applications, the researchers conclude.