Cell-sorting chip uses sound

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – Researchers from Pennsylvania State University, Ascent BioNano Technologies, and National Institutes of Health have teamed up to develop a microfluidic chip that can sort cells using acoustic waves.

According to Tony Jun Huang, associate professor of engineering science and mechanics at Penn State, the device uses two beams of acoustic waves that act as acoustic tweezers to sort a continuous flow of cells on a dime-sized chip. Changing the frequency of the acoustic waves alters the paths of the cells.

Since it can sort cells into five or more channels, the device will allow the simultaneous analysis of more cell types, and also pave the way for similar smaller, more efficient, and cheaper devices. Most current cell-sorting devices only allow sorting into two channels in one step, according to Professor Huang.

Another drawback is that the cells must be encapsulated into droplets, complicating further analysis. Current methods also produce aerosols that require extra safety precautions to handle.

“Today, cell sorting is done on bulky and very expensive devices,” he said. “We want to minimize them so they are portable, inexpensive and can be powered by batteries.”