Microfluidic device mimics human spleen to differentiate red blood cells by age
Microfluidic device mimics human spleen to differentiate red blood cells by age lead image
A decline in deformability is a long-established phenomenon associated with aging red blood cells (RBCs), hampering oxygen delivery. Accurately quantifying this in a way that lab tests can use to assess aging, however, continues to elude researchers. New work drawing on the microscopic structure of the human spleen looks to provide a new path forward for measuring aging.
Researchers have developed an ultrasensitive microfluidic device that can detect age-associated changes in deformability in RBCs. Drawing on the structure of the spleen as a guide for cell filtration, the device by You et al. packs 25-micrometer beads into a tube and uses the distance RBCs cover and their velocities to differentiate younger RBCs from older ones.
“Although many existing technologies aim to measure RBC deformability, they typically fail to distinguish between young and aged individuals solely based on this parameter,” said author Sehyun Shin. “Our work is the first to leverage a spleen-inspired mechanical filtering approach that can differentiate RBCs by deformability-induced flow velocity and detect age-associated differences with approximately 75% sensitivity.”
The channel’s slit structure physiologically slows and traps older, less deformable RBCs in the densely packed bead regions, allowing the group to study cells passively without labeling them.
Applied to human RBC samples, the technique shows a sensitivity of 78.3% and specificity of 73.9 in.differentiating RBCs from participants 12 to 40 years and an older cohort of 65 to 90 years.
The group hopes that their device provides a method for testing the efficacy of future treatments aimed at increasing RBC deformability.
Source: “Ultrasensitive microfluidic detection of red blood cell deformability: Age-related decline in deformability,” by Jihee You, Chae-A Park, Ae-Kyeong Kim, Hye Ran Jeon, Dong-Ik Kim, and Sehyun Shin, Physics of Fluids (2025). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0281533 .
This paper is part of the Fluids Dynamics of Life Collection, learn more here .
