UC Riverside

Cell separation is a major sample processing step for many biological and medical assays. Currently in a clinical setting, cell separation is usually achieved through centrifugation. Although centrifugation has a long history of use in clinical settings, it does have its drawbacks. The need for trained personnel to wait by the process from start to finish can make cell sorting using centrifugation a time consuming process. The need for a continuous flow device for cell sorting has resulting in the development of devices such as deterministic lateral displacement devices (DLD) and deterministic cell rolling devices. Although these devices are quite effective at sorting cells, they are not used in clinical settings. This can be attributed to the time consumption and complex nature of their fabrication. Our goal was to develop a device that achieves the principles used by DLD and roll over devices for cell sorting using commercially available meshes. To achieve DLD like results, a segment of mesh was sealed from top and bottom to allow lateral flow through the mesh. The meshes were sealed using either microscope slides to form a rigid device or thermoplastics to form a flexible device. To achieve roll over like results, meshes were placed into an etched channel and sealed using a thermoplastic to allow cells to roll over the mesh. Results from these devices showed consistent displacement as particles maneuvered through and over the mesh. The cost effectiveness of the meshes allow for mass producibilitiy of the device for clinical use.