New Chip Captures Specialised Immune Cells
September 9, 2010 – 5:54 pm
A new microfluidic chip that can capture neutrophils from blood could enhance therapeutic medical devices. Image: Ken Kotz et al., Nature Medicine
A new microfluidic chip could help researchers better understand how white blood cells known as neutrophils aid the body in coping with burns and other traumatic injuries. The chip could also shed light on why the immune system can sometimes go awry, resulting in inflammation.
The immune system’s first responders, neutrophils are the most-abundant white blood cell in the body. The chip allows scientists to capture neutrophils from a small volume of blood. It may also help to predict which patients are likely to develop serious infections after an injury, prompting aggressive treatment.
About the size of a business card, the device consists of an organic polymer sandwiched between two glass slides and features 16 channels coated with an antibody that binds to neutrophils. The antibodies selectively capture the cells as blood flows through the device. Scientists then add different chemicals to the chip to isolate DNA, proteins or other molecules from the cells.
Until now, isolating neutrophils from blood has been a long and challenging process. Developed by Ken Kotz and his team of researchers at the Center for Engineering in Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, the chip could capture the cells as effectively as traditional methods but in much less time. The researchers also showed that a small volume of blood—150 µl—generates enough cells for later analysis.
More information on the research is available from Technology Review.
Brian Buntz
Tags: microfluidic chip, neutrophils
