Bandpass sorting of heterogeneous cells using a single surface acoustic wave transducer pair

Separation and sorting of biological entities (viruses, bacteria, and cells) is a critical step in any microfluidic lab-on-a-chip device. Acoustofluidics platforms have demonstrated their ability to use physical characteristics of cells to perform label-free separation. Bandpass-type sorting methods of medium-sized entities from a mixture have been presented using acoustic techniques; however, they require multiple transducers, lack support for various target populations, can be sensitive to flow variations, or have not been verified for continuous flow sorting of biological cells. To our knowledge, this paper presents the first acoustic bandpass method that overcomes all these limitations and presents an inherently reconfigurable technique with a single transducer pair for stable continuous flow sorting of blood cells. The sorting method is first demonstrated for polystyrene particles of sizes 6, 10, and 14.5 mu m in diameter with measured purity and efficiency coefficients above 75 +/- 6% and 85 +/- 9%, respectively. The sorting strategy was further validated in the separation of red blood cells from white blood cells and 1 mu m polystyrene particles with 78 +/- 8% efficiency and 74 +/- 6% purity, respectively, at a flow rate of at least 1 mu l/min, enabling to process finger prick blood samples within minutes.

Automated summary

This paper introduces an acoustic bandpass method that overcomes traditional limitations, utilizing a single transducer pair for stable continuous flow sorting of blood cells. The method demonstrates high purity and efficiency coefficients when sorting particles of various sizes, and is further validated for separating red blood cells, white blood cells, and smaller particles.