Summary:
UCLA researchers in the Department of Bioengineering have built a new cell sorting system that can handle and maintain linear flow control for a broad range of mesoscale particles in fluids.
Background:
The global market for drug discovery technologies was valued at $65.3 billion in 2019, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.6%. The growing field of drug discovery and development is enabled by the automation technologies that can further reduce spiraling costs and alleviate the stringent timelines associated. Automating the identification and manipulation of bioparticles in fluids forms the cornerstone of future biomedical laboratories. Current automated flow manipulation can be broadly divided into 2 techniques: robotic liquid handling and flow cytometry. Robotic liquid handling technologies are specially designed for millimeter-scale particles and reaction volumes, whereas microfluidic and flow cytometry technologies are made for single cells and microscale particles. Automating the flow manipulation of mesoscale particles, therefore, is challenging as they sit in the gap between commercial flow manipulation technologies. Those bioparticles are too small to be correctly handled by the robotic handling methods during liquid transferring. At the same time, they are too large to have negligible inertia and may block flow cytometers or microfluidic channel flows. Moreover, to decipher the complex yet fragile structures of the newly developed mesoscale bioparticles, an automated and scalable high-content screening method with modular flow control is required. Therefore, a real-time analysis and sorting system is necessary to precisely control flow manipulation of mesoscale particles in a consistent manner.
Innovation:
Professor Di Carlo and his research team have invented a novel manipulation system for mesoscale biological objects by a series of robotic micro-motors. Utilizing this manipulation system with image-based feedback, a fully-automated bioparticle sorting solution is successfully developed. This invention will serve as a critical component to eliminate the gap left by the current commercial sorting solutions. Compared to the conventional flow manipulating techniques, this technology handles bioparticles in a broad size range (100 µm to 1 mm) and various shapes. The mechanism behind motor driven flow is well understood and applied in this UCLA innovation to realize linear control and precise sorting of the mesoscale particles in diverse biocompatible carrier fluids. Furthermore, by integrating arrays of robotic micromotors with imaging and image analysis operations, this closed-loop control system can provide scalable and automated real-time sorting and analysis capabilities across different industries involving target identification.
Patent:
Device and method for automatic cellular sorting and analysis via robotic motor-driven flow
Potential Applications:
• Automated sorting and analysis of mesoscale biological objects in drug discovery
• Use in general biomedical research
• Point-of-care diagnostics
• Controllable mesoscale target identification, analysis, and manipulation
• Liquid purification
• Toxicity analysis
ADVANTAGES:
• Handles mesoscale biological objects (100 µm to 1 mm)
• Controllable sorting and selection
• Real-time and precise control
• Enables fully automated operations
Development to Date:
Invention was successfully reduced to practice and validated in a laboratory setting
Reference: UCLA Case No. 2023-002