SUMMARY:
UCLA researchers in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering have developed a magnetically activated cell sorting method with high throughput and low-cost operation. BACKGROUND: The use of cell sorting techniques has become indispensable for many applications in biology and biomedicine. Cell sorting is particularly important for personalized medicine and cancer treatments since its use can provide enhanced single-cell analysis for diagnostics and treatment. Current cell sorting techniques that use flow cytometry or fluorescence-activated cell sorting require expensive equipment, and the staining of cells may limit further studies on the sorted cells. Magnetically activated cell sorting (MACS) has gained widespread use, but current methods use passive magnetic systems, which require manual manipulation of the cells collected, thereby limiting selectivity and throughput. There is a need for MACS systems that allow users to capture or release cells within a microfluidic channel, without external manipulation. INNOVATION: UCLA researchers in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering have developed a magnetically activated cell sorting (MACS) system for the capture and release of cells. The device is able to execute the capture and release through a state-of-the-art active magnetic manipulation method known as Spin Orbit Torque (SOT). By changing the magnetization of micromagnets embedded in a microfluidic device, the UCLA system acts as a magnetic door, closing or opening to capture or release cells. This elegantly simple mechanism offers excellent cell selectivity and high throughput potential.
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DEVELOPMENT TO DATE:
First successful demonstration by capture and release of cells influenced by a magnet in a fluidic channel.