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Effects of the cell and triangular microwell size on the cell-trapping efficacy and specificity

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Abstract

The single-, double- or multiple-cell entrapment efficacy is crucial in various aspects of biological studies. In this study, both computational and experimental approaches were conducted to explore the effect of the cell and microwell sizes on the ability of cell-trapping in a triangular microwell. From computational studies, it was found that the interaction between a spanwise vortex on the upper part and counter-rotating streamwise vortices at the leading edge helped to form a pair of secondary streamwise vortices deeper inside the microwell. The strength and size of these secondary streamwise vortices, which depended on the size of the microwell, played an important role in the arrangement of entrapped cells. The experimental results, with both microbeads and white blood cells (WBCs), were in good agreement with the simulated ones, and suggested that the ratio between the cell and microwell sizes was an important factor in the efficacy of single-, double- and multiple-cell cell-trapping. Entrapment of canine WBCs (size distribution between 7–15 µm) attained a highest single-cell trapping efficiency of 20.4 % in the array of 40-µm triangular microwells of 30 µm depth at a flow rate of 0.1 mL/h, but this was reduced to 16.5 and 10.6 % in the 60- and 80-µm microwells, respectively, under the same conditions.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support was received through Chulalongkorn Academic Advancement into its 2nd Century Project (Smart Medical Device & 3D Printing for Product Development). T.T. was a Graduate Research Fellow (The 90th Anniversary of Chulalongkorn University Fund). The authors would like to thank Dr. Mayuree Chanasakulniyom and Dr. Dettachai Ketpun for their helpful assistance. Dr. Takayuki Nakagawa (The University of Tokyo) provided cell line in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand

    Tewan Tongmanee, Werayut Srituravanich & Alongkorn Pimpin

  2. Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand

    Achariya Sailasuta

  3. Thai Microelectronics Center (TMEC), Chachoengsao, 24000, Thailand

    Witsaroot Sripumkhai & Wutthinan Jeamsaksiri

  4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan

    Kenichi Morimoto & Yuji Suzuki

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  1. Tewan Tongmanee
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Correspondence to Alongkorn Pimpin.

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Recommended by Associate Editor Sung-Jin Kim

Alongkorn Pimpin is an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University. He received his M.Eng. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Chulalongkorn University and D.Eng. degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Tokyo in 2000 and 2005, respectively. His research interests include design of microfluidic chips, micro sensors and actuators, experimentation in a micro-scale and nanotechnology.

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Tongmanee, T., Srituravanich, W., Sailasuta, A. et al. Effects of the cell and triangular microwell size on the cell-trapping efficacy and specificity. J Mech Sci Technol 33, 5571–5580 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-019-1050-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-019-1050-2

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