Red blood cells are the majority species (4.7 – 6 million per μl) in our blood, contributing to about 95% of the total cell population. The remaining population consists of white cells and platelets, as well as the inconspicuous Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs). Hence, the purification technique employed in our device focuses on trapping the CTCs while allowing the ubiquitous erythrocytes to pass through unobstructed. In our LoC designs, we mainly focus on mechanisms based on microfluidics and micromechanical structures. More specifically, the separation principle we adopted, makes use of the inherent characteristic size and mass differences between the different cell populations to provide a quick and simple separation method. Due to the combination of micromechanical filters and microfluidics designs, the target cells (e.g. CTCs), can be effectively segregated from the majority of other cells without the need for additional control (e.g. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) or magnetic fields).

In our first LOC prototype device, we realized the function of cancer cell detection by integrating micro-pillar and micro-weir which could block cancer cell. In our subsequent design, we will go a step further by developing a continuous flow LOC device that allows cell separation and detection in large volume.

Selected Publications:

1. Johnny Han He, Julien Reboud, H. Ji, L. Zhang, Y. Long and Chengkuo Lee, Biomicrofluidic lab-on-chip device for cancer cell detection, Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 93, 223905, Dec. 2008. [PDF] [DOI]

 

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