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Microfluidic aqueous two phase system for leukocyte concentration from whole blood

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Abstract

Leukocytes from a whole blood sample were concentrated using a microfluidic aqueous two phase system (μATPS). Whole blood was simultaneously exposed to polyethylene glycol (PEG) and dextran (Dex) phase streams and cells were partitioned based on their differential affinity for the streams. The laminar flow characteristic of microfluidic devices was used to create zero, one, and two stable interfaces between the polymer streams. Three different patterns of three polymer streams each were evaluated for their effectiveness in concentrating leukocytes: immiscible PEG-PEG-Dex, immiscible Dex-PEG-Dex, and miscible PEG-PBS-Dex. The most effective configuration was the Dex-PEG-Dex stream pattern which on average increased the ratio of leukocytes to erythrocytes by a factor of 9.13 over unconcentrated blood.

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Acknowledgements

Funding for this project was provided by the NIH Carolina Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence grant U54 CA119343.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Raleigh, NC, 27695-7115, USA

    Jeffrey R. SooHoo & Glenn M. Walker

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  1. Jeffrey R. SooHoo
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  2. Glenn M. Walker
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Correspondence to Jeffrey R. SooHoo.

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SooHoo, J.R., Walker, G.M. Microfluidic aqueous two phase system for leukocyte concentration from whole blood. Biomed Microdevices 11, 323–329 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10544-008-9238-8

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