title: Biochip for separating fetal cells from maternal circulation.
abstract: Isolation of fetal cells from maternal circulation is the subject of intense research to eliminate the need for currently used invasive prenatal diagnosis procedures. Fetal cells can be isolated using magnetic-activated cell sorting or fluorescence-activated cell sorting, however no technique to specifically isolate and use fetal cells for genetic diagnosis has reached routine clinical practice. This paper demonstrates the use of a micromachined device to separate fetal cells from maternal circulation based on differences in size and deformation characteristics. Nucleated fetal red blood cells range in diameter from 9 to 12 microm can deform and pass through a channel as small as 2.5 microm wide and 5 microm deep. Although the white blood cells range in diameter from 10 to 20 microm, they cannot deform and are retained by the 2.5 microm wide and 5 microm deep channels under our experimental conditions. Fetal cells were isolated from cord blood and DNA analysis confirmed their fetal origin with ruled out maternal contamination.
authors.affiliation: Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY 12201-0509, USA. hmohamed@wadsworth.org
authors.forename: Hisham
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mohamed
authors.forename: James N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caggana
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D048430:Cell Shape; D048429:Cell Size; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D004900:Erythroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D004913:Erythrocytes, Abnormal / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis; D005777:Geese; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D004247:DNA