Size fractionation of primary muscle cells using hydrodynamics in microchannels

A microfluidic device based on hydrodynamic fractionation by size was applied for enrichment of muscle precursor cells obtained from heterogeneous primary cells of muscle tissues. In this paper, the relationship between cell size and quality of regenerative muscles in vitro was focused on. Fractionation of primary cells from rat limbs was demonstrated using a microfluidic device based on hydrodynamics in the microchannels. The precise size sorting of cells was achieved. Observations of each cell fraction showed smaller cells had high activity for muscle differentiation. This suggested the good potential for cell processing by size fractionation using a microfluidic device for tissue engineering in regenerative medicine.