Serially Ordered Magnetization of Nanoclusters via Control of Various Transition Metal Dopants for the Multifractionation of Cells in Microfluidic Magnetophoresis Devices

Anal Chem. 2016 Jan 19;88(2):1078-82. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.5b04111. Epub 2016 Jan 4.

Abstract

A novel method (i.e., continuous magnetic cell separation in a microfluidic channel) is demonstrated to be capable of inducing multifractionation of mixed cell suspensions into multiple outlet fractions. Here, multicomponent cell separation is performed with three different distinguishable magnetic nanoclusters (MnFe2O4, Fe3O4, and CoFe2O4), which are tagged on A431 cells. Because of their mass magnetizations, which can be ideally altered by doping with magnetic atom compositions (Mn, Fe, and Co), the trajectories of cells with each magnetic nanocluster in a flow are shown to be distinct when dragged under the same external magnetic field; the rest of the magnetic characteristics of the nanoclusters are identically fixed. This proof of concept study, which utilizes the magnetization-controlled nanoclusters (NCs), suggests that precise and effective multifractionation is achievable with high-throughput and systematic accuracy for dynamic cell separation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Separation / instrumentation*
  • Cell Separation / methods*
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Phenomena
  • Magnetite Nanoparticles / chemistry*
  • Microfluidic Analytical Techniques* / instrumentation
  • Particle Size
  • Surface Properties
  • Transition Elements / chemistry*

Substances

  • Magnetite Nanoparticles
  • Transition Elements