Deformability-based red blood cell separation in deterministic lateral displacement devices - a simulation study

TL;DR

This study demonstrates through simulations that red blood cell deformability influences their separation in deterministic lateral displacement devices, enabling label-free disease detection based on cell stiffness.

Contribution

The paper introduces a simulation approach to predict RBC displacement in DLD devices based on deformability, aiding the design of microfluidic cell sorting methods.

Findings

Deformability affects RBC lateral extension in DLD devices.

Simulations predict which RBCs will be displaced based on deformability.

Potential for disease detection via cell deformability fingerprint.

Abstract

We show, via three-dimensional immersed-boundary-finite-element-lattice-Boltzmann simulations, that deformability-based red blood cell (RBC) separation in deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) devices is possible. This is due to the deformability-dependent lateral extension of RBCs and enables us to predict a priori which RBCs will be displaced in a given DLD geometry. Several diseases affect the deformability of human cells. Malaria-infected RBCs or sickle cells, for example, tend to become stiffer than their healthy counterparts. It is therefore desirable to design microfluidic devices which can detect those diseases based on the cells' deformability fingerprint, rather than preparing samples using expensive and time-consuming biochemical preparation steps. Our findings should be helpful in the development of new methods for sorting cells and particles by deformability.