Nudging Cells Using Molecular Interactions:
Towards Label-free Cell Rolling Separation

	3.03.2009 SPEAKER: Rohit Karnik, PhD: MIT MODERATOR: Jeffrey Borenstein, PhD: Draper, CIMIT

Forum Summary

Current techniques for cell separation, such as fluorescent-activated cell sorting (FACS), require cell labeling, expensive equipment, and procedures that are invasive to cells.  These sorting methods may change cellular phenotypes and thus make cells unsuitable for downstream applications.  Separating cells using surface receptors and no labels would make cell separation easier and less invasive.  A microfluidic device capable of sorting cells with no labels and minimal processing would have a number of applications in both clinical and research settings. 

Researchers in the laboratory of Rohit Karnik, PhD, are seeking to develop such devices.  Their prototypes sort rolling cells based on surface receptors.  Cells are placed in a micro-channel partially coated with the ligand for a given surface receptor.  Cells with the appropriate receptor roll along the part of the channel coated with the ligand, and if one of these cells can no longer move with the fluid flowing through the channel, it will follow the edge of the area coated with the ligand.  Researchers in Karnik’s lab successfully built devices to control the movement of HL-60 cells in channels partially coated with selectins. 

In the future, they hope to build devices capable of controlling the rolling behavior of different types of cells.  Their concept has many possible applications.  Cell-sorting devices based on cell rolling could be used to measure a patient’s blood count or to detect inflammation. 

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