Acoustofluidic bacteria separation

Sixing Li, Fen Ma, Hunter Bachman, Craig E. Cameron, Xiangqun Zeng, Tony Jun Huang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

89 Scopus citations

Abstract

Bacterial separation from human blood samples can help with the identification of pathogenic bacteria for sepsis diagnosis. In this work, we report an acoustofluidic device for label-free bacterial separation from human blood samples. In particular, we exploit the acoustic radiation force generated from a tilted-angle standing surface acoustic wave (taSSAW) field to separate Escherichia coli from human blood cells based on their size difference. Flow cytometry analysis of the E. Coli separated from red blood cells shows a purity of more than 96%. Moreover, the label-free electrochemical detection of the separated E. Coli displays reduced non-specific signals due to the removal of blood cells. Our acoustofluidic bacterial separation platform has advantages such as label-free separation, high biocompatibility, flexibility, low cost, miniaturization, automation, and ease of in-line integration. The platform can be incorporated with an on-chip sensor to realize a point-of-care sepsis diagnostic device.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number015031
JournalJournal of Micromechanics and Microengineering
Volume27
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2017

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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