title: Sorting cells by their dynamical properties.
abstract: Recent advances in cell sorting aim at the development of novel methods that are sensitive to various mechanical properties of cells. Microfluidic technologies have a great potential for cell sorting; however, the design of many micro-devices is based on theories developed for rigid spherical particles with size as a separation parameter. Clearly, most bioparticles are non-spherical and deformable and therefore exhibit a much more intricate behavior in fluid flow than rigid spheres. Here, we demonstrate the use of cells' mechanical and dynamical properties as biomarkers for separation by employing a combination of mesoscale hydrodynamic simulations and microfluidic experiments. The dynamic behavior of red blood cells (RBCs) within deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) devices is investigated for different device geometries and viscosity contrasts between the intra-cellular fluid and suspending medium. We find that the viscosity contrast and associated cell dynamics clearly determine the RBC trajectory through a DLD device. Simulation results compare well to experiments and provide new insights into the physical mechanisms which govern the sorting of non-spherical and deformable cells in DLD devices. Finally, we discuss the implications of cell dynamics for sorting schemes based on properties other than cell size, such as mechanics and morphology.
authors.affiliation: Theoretical Soft Matter and Biophysics, Institute of Complex Systems and Institute for Advanced Simulation, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
authors.forename: Ewan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.affiliation: Division of Solid State Physics, NanoLund, Lund University, PO Box 118, S-221 00 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Stefan H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Holm
authors.affiliation: Theoretical Soft Matter and Biophysics, Institute of Complex Systems and Institute for Advanced Simulation, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
authors.forename: Zunmin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Division of Solid State Physics, NanoLund, Lund University, PO Box 118, S-221 00 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jason P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Beech
authors.affiliation: Division of Solid State Physics, NanoLund, Lund University, PO Box 118, S-221 00 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jonas O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Tegenfeldt
authors.affiliation: Theoretical Soft Matter and Biophysics, Institute of Complex Systems and Institute for Advanced Simulation, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
authors.forename: Dmitry A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Fedosov
authors.affiliation: Theoretical Soft Matter and Biophysics, Institute of Complex Systems and Institute for Advanced Simulation, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gompper
mesh_terms: D004907:Erythrocyte Deformability; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male