In biomedicine, sorting cells accurately without damaging them remains a persistent problem. Current methods, like fluorescence-activated cell sorting, rely on labeling the cells extrinsically, which can stress the cells, alter their behavior and even interfere with the assay. A collaborative study between researchers in Singapore and China has now developed a noninvasive, label-free method to sort cells.

“The cell-sorting platform is an integrated system that requires pre-focusing, cell sensing, and single-cell-level manipulation,” said associate professor Ye AI from Singapore University of Technology and Design, who co-led the study, “Label-free impedance-activated acoustic sorting of cells from structural to molecular scale in microfluidics,” published in Small Methods.