Scientists at Stanford University have developed a new method of manufacturing lab-on-chip devices that cost only pennies to make, which can be used for research and point-of-care diagnostics, particularly in poorer places around the world.
The investigators built such devices and showed that they can be used to separate cells from a sample, isolate target cells from other cells, and to count cells by their type. All this is done without using any tags or fluorescent labels, instead relying on sending current through the device, causing the cells to separate by type based on their polarizability, or how an electric field influences the distribution of an electric charge on the cells.
The device consists of a small chamber containing cells to be analyzed and a reusable electronic strip. An inkjet printer is used to lay the strip onto a polyester sheet using a conductive ink. The process takes about twenty minutes using a consumer off-the-shelf printer, but can certainly be sped up significantly using modern manufacturing techniques.
Even though its incredibly inexpensive, the technology can isolate individual cells from tiny samples, something that was possible only with considerably more pricey devices.
Study in Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences: Multifunctional, inexpensive, and reusable nanoparticle-printed biochip for cell manipulation and diagnosis…
Via: Stanford Medicine…
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