title: Label-free cell separation and sorting in microfluidic systems.
abstract: Cell separation and sorting are essential steps in cell biology research and in many diagnostic and therapeutic methods. Recently, there has been interest in methods which avoid the use of biochemical labels; numerous intrinsic biomarkers have been explored to identify cells including size, electrical polarizability, and hydrodynamic properties. This review highlights microfluidic techniques used for label-free discrimination and fractionation of cell populations. Microfluidic systems have been adopted to precisely handle single cells and interface with other tools for biochemical analysis. We analyzed many of these techniques, detailing their mode of separation, while concentrating on recent developments and evaluating their prospects for application. Furthermore, this was done from a perspective where inertial effects are considered important and general performance metrics were proposed which would ease comparison of reported technologies. Lastly, we assess the current state of these technologies and suggest directions which may make them more accessible.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of California Los Angeles, 420 Westwood Plaza, 5121 Engineering V, Box 951600, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1600, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Gossett
authors.forename: Westbrook M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Weaver
authors.forename: Albert J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Mach
authors.forename: Soojung Claire
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Hur
authors.forename: Henry Tat Kwong
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Tse
authors.forename: Wonhee
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hamed
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Amini
authors.forename: Dino
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Di Carlo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D002477:Cells / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*