Sumin S's Senior Project Blog

Project Title: Tiny but Mighty!: Exploring Cell Separation with Microfluidic, 3D Printing, and Instrumental Design BASIS Advisor: Raji Mani Internship Location: University of Texas at San Antonio Onsite Mentor: Dr. Gongchen Sun and Gabriel Garibaldi

Project Abstract

Cells in our body are the best tiny but mighty living organisms. They make energy-producing lumps of sugar, lipids to keep our body warm, and more cells to enhance our growth. Just like cells take on a variety of essential roles to keep the body functioning, they also come in many different types, each uniquely specialized to perform its specific tasks as well as its unique shapes. Imagine if those cells are mixed within one box; How could we separate and classify these cells? To answer this question, this project will develop a “microfluidic cell sorter” to explore the separation of different types of cells. The term “microfluidic” comes from the technology of manufacturing microminiaturized devices containing chambers and tunnels through which fluids flow or are confined (Chapman, 2023). This microfluidic technology will be employed to develop a micro-scale chip designed with channels of varying sizes. Utilizing this technology enables the separation of cells based on distinct parameters, with each parameter corresponding to a channel specifically tailored to accommodate each cell precisely. The separation will be further enhanced using centrifugation, rotating at rapid speeds to divide substances using the power of the centripetal force (Lind, 2023). In addition, 3D printing technology will be utilized to manufacture the micro-scale chip, along with the necessary tools and motor required for operating the cell separation process. This technology will help the researchers to classify cells as biomarkers and to accurately adjust required needs, which is the field that I’m willing to pursue.