Continuous Particle Separation Through Deterministic Lateral Displacement

TLDR

The study reports a microfluidic particle‑separation device that uses asymmetric bifurcations of laminar flow around obstacles to achieve deterministic sorting. The device routes particles deterministically based on size through these asymmetric bifurcations, enabling size‑dependent migration paths. It achieved high‑resolution sorting, separating 0.8–1.0 µm microspheres in 40 s with ~10 nm resolution and bacterial artificial chromosomes in 10 min with ~12% resolution, outperforming conventional flow techniques.

Abstract

We report on a microfluidic particle-separation device that makes use of the asymmetric bifurcation of laminar flow around obstacles. A particle chooses its path deterministically on the basis of its size. All particles of a given size follow equivalent migration paths, leading to high resolution. The microspheres of 0.8, 0.9, and 1.0 micrometers that were used to characterize the device were sorted in 40 seconds with a resolution of approximately 10 nanometers, which was better than the time and resolution of conventional flow techniques. Bacterial artificial chromosomes could be separated in 10 minutes with a resolution of approximately 12%.