APPLICATIONS
Blood Plasma Separation on a Microfluidic Chip
Many blood tests need plasma, not whole blood — and getting it usually means a centrifuge. Microfluidic chips can separate plasma on the spot, no spinning required, which is key for point-of-care testing. Here is how.
Why separate plasma?
Blood cells interfere with many assays, so tests often run on plasma or serum. Doing this separation on-chip removes the centrifuge step, enabling true sample-to-answer point-of-care devices from a finger-prick of blood.
On-chip separation methods
- Microfiltration — membranes or pillar arrays sieve out cells.
- Sedimentation — cells settle while plasma is drawn off.
- Inertial / hydrodynamic — inertial microfluidics and effects like cell-free layers steer cells aside.
- Acoustic — acoustofluidics pushes cells to nodes, leaving plasma.
Design challenges
Whole blood is concentrated and prone to clogging, so designs must avoid fouling and minimise haemolysis (cell rupture, which contaminates plasma). Throughput versus purity is the central trade-off.
Manufacturing
Plasma-separation chips for diagnostics are produced in clear thermoplastics by injection moulding, often integrating downstream detection on the same lab-on-a-chip.
Frequently asked questions
How do microfluidic chips separate plasma from blood?
By microfiltration, sedimentation, inertial/hydrodynamic effects or acoustic forces that move blood cells aside, so cell-free plasma can be collected without a centrifuge.
Why separate plasma on a chip instead of using a centrifuge?
On-chip separation removes the centrifuge step, enabling fast, portable, sample-to-answer point-of-care tests from a small drop of blood.
What is the main challenge in on-chip plasma separation?
Avoiding channel clogging and haemolysis with concentrated whole blood, while balancing throughput against plasma purity.
No centrifuge needed
Designing a plasma-separation chip?
We manufacture clog-resistant separation chips that integrate with detection. Upload your design for a quote, or book a call.
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