Macrophages are an important component of the immune system and play a key role in tissue damage repair and immune defense. As a potential biomarker, macrophages contribute to the early diagnosis and therapy of cancer and other disease. The isolation of macrophages is a key step in relevant research and clinical applications. However, conventional macrophage separation and purification methods rely on benchtop equipment and are time-consuming, inefficient, complicated, and immobile. Herein, we present a method based on dielectrophoresis (DEP) to rapidly separate and purify macrophages from micro-volume samples using a microfluidic device for liquid biopsy and point-of-care testing (POCT). The device can be mechanically manipulated easily for straightforward separation. The DEP force on macrophages was measured under different electric field conditions, then the macrophages were successfully separated from the mixture of macrophages (RAW264.7) and breast cancer cells (MCF-7) using the microfluidic chip. The purity of macrophages in the collections reached higher than 99%. The effects of flow rate and voltage on the separation efficiency of macrophages by DEP were further studied to optimize the separation conditions. This work proposes a new method for rapid separation of macrophages based on microfluidic systems, providing a technical foundation for macrophage-based disease monitoring and real-time rapid diagnosis.

中文翻译：

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基于介电泳的微流控设备分离巨噬细胞

巨噬细胞是免疫系统的重要组成部分，在组织损伤修复和免疫防御中起关键作用。作为潜在的生物标志物，巨噬细胞有助于癌症和其他疾病的早期诊断和治疗。巨噬细胞的分离是相关研究和临床应用中的关键步骤。然而，常规的巨噬细胞分离和纯化方法依赖台式设备并且费时，低效，复杂且不固定。在这里，我们提出了一种基于介电电泳（DEP）的方法，可以使用用于液体活检和即时检验（POCT）的微流控设备从微量样品中快速分离和纯化巨噬细胞。可以轻松地机械操作该设备，以实现直接分离。在不同的电场条件下测量DEP对巨噬细胞的作用力，然后使用微流控芯片成功地将巨噬细胞与巨噬细胞（RAW264.7）和乳腺癌细胞（MCF-7）的混合物分离。收集物中巨噬细胞的纯度高于99％。进一步研究了流速和电压对DEP分离巨噬细胞效率的影响，以优化分离条件。这项工作提出了一种基于微流体系统快速分离巨噬细胞的新方法，为基于巨噬细胞的疾病监测和实时快速诊断提供了技术基础。收集物中巨噬细胞的纯度高于99％。进一步研究了流速和电压对DEP分离巨噬细胞效率的影响，以优化分离条件。这项工作提出了一种基于微流体系统快速分离巨噬细胞的新方法，为基于巨噬细胞的疾病监测和实时快速诊断提供了技术基础。收集物中巨噬细胞的纯度达到99％以上。进一步研究了流速和电压对DEP分离巨噬细胞效率的影响，以优化分离条件。这项工作提出了一种基于微流体系统快速分离巨噬细胞的新方法，为基于巨噬细胞的疾病监测和实时快速诊断提供了技术基础。