Durability of the bubble-jet sorter enables high performance bio sample isolation.

Sorting cells while maintaining their viability for further processing or analysis is an essential step in a variety of biological processes ranging from early diagnostics to cell therapy. Sorting techniques such as fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) have evolved considerably and provide standard ways of sorting. Nevertheless, the search for compact, integrated, efficient, and high throughput microfluidic sorting platforms continues due to challenges such as cost, cell viability, and biosafety.

SUPERCELLS: a novel microfluidic reactor architecture for ultra-fast sequential delivery of chemical reagents.

Applications such as nucleic acid synthesis or next-generation sequencing involve repeated fluidic cycles with the same set of reagents. The large dead volumes present in external valves and pumps with relatively long supply lines mandate the inclusion of extensive rinsing steps in current protocols, resulting in the consumption of significant quantities of reagents. To allow for fast rinsing, to reduce reagent consumption, and to ensure high reagent purity, we propose a fluidic concept based on a hierarchical branching structure.

On-chip flow cytometer using integrated photonics for the detection of human leukocytes.

Differentiation between leukocyte subtypes like monocytes and lymphocytes is essential for cell therapy and research applications. To guarantee the cost-effective delivery of functional cells in cell therapies, billions of cells must be processed in a limited time. Yet, the sorting rates of commercial cell sorters are not high enough to reach the required yield.