Tardigrades are microscopic animals widely known for their survival capabilities under extreme conditions. They are the focus of current research in the fields of taxonomy, biogeography, genomics, proteomics, development, space biology, evolution, and ecology. Tardigrades, such as Hypsibius exemplaris, are being advocated as a next-generation model organism for genomic and developmental studies. The raw culture of H. exemplaris usually contains tardigrades themselves, their eggs, and algal food and feces. Experimentation with tardigrades often requires the demanding and laborious separation of tardigrades from raw samples to prepare pure and contamination-free tardigrade samples. In this paper, we propose a two-step acousto-microfluidic separation method to isolate tardigrades from raw samples. In the first step, a passive microfluidic filter composed of an array of traps is used to remove large algal clusters in the raw sample. In the second step, a surface acoustic wave-based active microfluidic separation device is used to continuously deflect tardigrades from their original streamlines inside the microchannel and thus selectively isolate them from algae and eggs. The experimental results demonstrated the efficient tardigrade separation with a recovery rate of 96% and an algae impurity of 4% on average in a continuous, contactless, automated, rapid, biocompatible manner.

中文翻译：

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从用于样品制备的原始培养物中分离出缓步动物的声微流体

缓步动物是微小的动物，因其在极端条件下的生存能力而广为人知。它们是分类学、生物地理学、基因组学、蛋白质组学、发展、空间生物学、进化和生态学领域当前研究的重点。缓步动物，例如 Hypsibius exemplaris，被提倡作为用于基因组和发育研究的下一代模式生物。H. exemplaris 的原始培养物通常包含缓步动物本身、它们的卵以及藻类食物和粪便。缓步动物的实验通常需要将缓步动物与原始样品进行严格而费力的分离，以制备纯净且无污染的缓步动物样品。在本文中，我们提出了一种两步声微流体分离方法来从原始样品中分离缓步动物。在第一步中，由一系列陷阱组成的被动微流体过滤器用于去除原始样品中的大型藻类簇。在第二步中，基于表面声波的主动微流体分离装置用于连续偏转缓步动物在微通道内的原始流线，从而选择性地将它们与藻类和卵隔离。实验结果表明，以连续、非接触、自动化、快速、生物相容的方式进行了有效的缓步动物分离，回收率为 96%，藻类杂质平均为 4%。基于表面声波的主动微流体分离装置用于连续偏转缓步动物在微通道内的原始流线，从而选择性地将它们与藻类和卵隔离。实验结果表明，以连续、非接触、自动化、快速、生物相容的方式进行了有效的缓步动物分离，回收率为 96%，藻类杂质平均为 4%。基于表面声波的主动微流体分离装置用于连续偏转缓步动物在微通道内的原始流线，从而选择性地将它们与藻类和卵隔离。实验结果表明，以连续、非接触、自动化、快速、生物相容的方式进行了有效的缓步动物分离，回收率为 96%，藻类杂质平均为 4%。