Cellular Transport Dispersion in Microfluidic Channels

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The mechanical properties of cells are important in a wide range of areas in medicine and biology. For example, malaria is caused by a microscopic parasite that spends part of its lifecycle inside human red blood cells. The deformability, or stiffness, of red blood cells infected with this parasite is related to the growth of the parasite and its response to drugs. Therefore, characterization of cellular deformability could be used to measure parasite growth and drug activity. Similarly, the deformability of cancer cells may indicate their ability to invade healthy tissue, and therefore may be used to assess the aggressiveness of the disease and enable clinicians to select optimal treatment.******In this proposal, we aim to develop a new class of tools for measuring the deformability of various types of human cells including red blood cells, white blood cells, and cancer cells. These tools leverage technologies developed for the fabrication of silicon microchips to create structures at the length scale of individual cells. Combining this capability with other manufacturing methods and modern instrumentation will enable us to develop technologies to more easily and more accurately measure cellular deformability, as well as to perform large numbers of such studies in parallel.******The anticipated outcomes of this proposal are new tools and principles that could be used by biomedical scientists to establish the relationship between cellular deformability and the properties of various diseases. These tools will then form the foundation for standard biological tests in a wide range of areas including optimization of conditions for blood storage; detection and treatment of infectious diseases, such as malaria; management of hereditary diseases, such as sickle cell and thalassemia; and evaluation of cancer disease and drug response.