MarrowDLD: Microfluidic-Based Label-Free Sorting of Fragile Bone Marrow Cells by Deterministic Lateral Displacement
(Porro et al., 2023)
New students and collaborators may unlock the Secrets of Bone Marrow with the MarrowDLD device we are developing in collaboration with the Laboratory of Life Science Electronics at EPFL. Discover the hidden world of bone marrow adipocytes (BMAds), stromal reticular cells, and megakaryocytes with our groundbreaking technology. Traditional methods have struggled to isolate these fragile populations. MarrowDLD, our label-free fluid dynamic cytometry microsystem, aims to change this important limitation. Based on deterministic lateral displacement (DLD), MarrowDLD precisely separates pure single-cell suspensions of BMAds, stromal progenitors, and megakaryocytes, while preserving cell viability. Our cutting-edge sorting module can be customized, allowing to explore cell intrinsic size properties in real-time. Validated with mouse and human stromal cell lines and primary megakaryocytes, MarrowDLD offers reproducible and efficient sorting in the absence of pre-labelling steps, delivering a pure cell population without loss in viability of functionality. Up to a million cells can be sorted in 2-3 hours with MarrowDLD, with increased purity and yield as compared to traditional FACS instruments, especially for larger fractions. Follow up projects are directed at unleashing the potential of MarrowDLD to uncover the physiological and pathological roles of BMAds and megakaryocytes, thus providing new exciting possibilities for bone marrow exploration.