Characterization and Separation of Suspension Cells by Isoacoustic Focusing

Enabling techniques for separating target cells, such as subgroups of white blood cells
and cancer cells from blood and other body fluids, are necessary for lab work facilitation, i
nline integration with high-end bioanalytical instrumentation, and for point-of-care or
home testing. The work of this thesis addresses this need by further studying an
equilibrium-based ultrasonic wave-based technology called isoacoustic focusing to
characterize and gain access to cells. In this size-insensitive technique, cells are
suspended in a microchannel filled with an inhomogeneous medium where the
interaction of diffusion, gravity, and acoustic radiation shapes a smooth gradient
profile for the acoustic impedance of the media orthogonal to the flow.

Link to thesis in LUCRIS/LU Research Portal.