Microvesicle fractionation using deterministic lateral displacement effect

We demonstrate a novel integrated microfluidic device to separate circulating extracellular vesicles from blood stream using the deterministic lateral displacement principle. The device continuously fractionates extracellular vesicles and cells according to size and membrane flexibility by displacing them perpendicularly to the fluid flow direction in a micro-fabricated array of post. Direct separation of different size micro- and nanospheres were demonstrated using a multi-stage separation strategy thus offering a potential route for novel cancer diagnostic approaches where microvesicles can be targeted and intercepted during cell to cell communication.