Protocol of living cell separation using the microfluidic dielectrophoresis integrated chip.

This protocol demonstrates the separation of living cells with the microfluidic dielectrophoresis chip, using the Jurkat cell as a model. The successful living cell separation lies in familiarity with the detailed tips, which are aided by this stepwise protocol. The knowledge of correct chip installation, sample and buffer filling, flow rate and cell concentration adjustments, and contamination sources increases the efficiency of target viable cell collection. Such instructions, although trivial, are critical for achieving cell separation. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Oshiro et al. (2022).

Fabrication of a new all-in-one microfluidic dielectrophoresis integrated chip and living cell separation.

Microfluidic dielectrophoresis (DEP) technology has been applied to many devices to perform label-free target cell separation. Cells separated by these devices are used in laboratories, mainly for medical research. The present study designed a microfluidic DEP device to fabricate a rapid and semiautomated cell separation system in conjunction with microscopy to enumerate the separated cells. With this device, we efficiently segregated bacterial cells from liquid products and enriched one cell type from two mixed eukaryotic cell types. The device eliminated sample pretreatment and established cell separation by all-in-one operation in a lab-on-chip, requiring only a small sample volume (0.5-1 mL) to enumerate the target cells and completing the entire separation process within 30 min. Such a rapid cell separation technique is in high demand by many researchers to promptly characterize the target cells.