MagSculptor: A Microfluidic Platform for High-Resolution Magnetic Fractionation of Low-Expression Cell Subtypes.

ABSTRACT: Heterogeneous expression of a single surface protein within one cell population can drive major functional differences, yet low-expression subtypes remain difficult to isolate. Conventional tube-based immunomagnetic separation collapses all labelled cells into one positive fraction and thus cannot resolve small differences in marker abundance. Here, we present MagSculptor, a microfluidic platform for high-resolution magnetic fractionation of low-expression EpCAM-defined subtypes within one immunomagnetically labelled population at a time. Arrays of soft-magnetic strips create localized high-gradient zones that map modest differences in bead loading onto distinct capture positions, yielding High (H), Medium (M), Low (L), and Negative (N) fractions. Finite element method simulations of coupl

SUBMITTER: Liang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12838995 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature