Gozde Durmus, assistant professor of radiology, who has rolled out a new pioneering technology. This new, exciting technology works by utilizing magnetic fields to detect and separate cells with outstanding precision. Her recent paper, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, details the innovative system known as Electro-LEV. This portable device uses the inherent electromagnetic properties present in all earthly materials to show a more than order of magnitude improvement in cell analysis and sorting capabilities.
Durmus’ research team created Electro-LEV, which uses an electric, rather than magnetic, field to levitate cells. This technology includes form-matching magnets, with each magnet placed exactly one millimeter apart. Their design produces a magnetic field gradient that is millions of times stronger than what conventional MRI machines provide. MRI machines, like those found in hospitals, use magnets on the order of seven Tesla and one meter apart. Conversely, Electro-LEV generates its magnetic gradient through proximity, making it even more effective.
The Science Behind Electro-LEV
As explained by Gozde Durmus, the Earth, in particular, has very interesting magnetism on a small scale. This core idea is the foundation of her lab’s work. The design of Electro-LEV takes advantage of these magnetic properties, allowing researchers to visualize and isolate multiple cell types with precision.
The whole device runs on a narrow glass capillary that’s only one millimeter wide. This design combined with their cutting edge technology makes the ideal environment to levitate, isolate and analyze cells. That added magnetic field gradient when the two magnets are closer together increases the device’s ability to sort cells more precisely. Widely considered to be the most notable improvement to cell sorting technology, this innovative method provides a level of precise analysis beyond anything ever offered.
In 2015, Durmus coauthored a seminal paper showing that her system could levitate just about any kind of cell. This initial exploratory research proved that magnetic levitation can be a powerful tool to visually distinguish between different cell types. That in turn led to the creation of Electro-LEV.
Enhancing Cell Sorting Capabilities
Electro-LEV not only excels in cell identification, but it shines in efficiencies for sorting live from dead cells. The device has been doing quite well. It is capable of achieving 93% purity of live cells starting from a population of 50% live cells. This unique capacity is a key enabler for applications to advance biomedical research. In clinical diagnostics, distinguishing between live and dead cells will have immediate implications on therapeutics.
Even in challenging conditions where only 10% of the original sample is made up of viable cells, Electro-LEV stands out. Despite some challenges, it gets a profitable 70% output of live cells. This incredible efficiency unlocks unprecedented avenues of research in the fields of cell biology, cancer biology and regenerative medicine, just to name a few. Researchers are quickly able to get samples with more enriched live cells, improving the accuracy of downstream experiments.
Durmus’ work represents an exciting new leap in what we can do with the ability to manipulate and analyze biological samples at this scale. Now her team has found a precise way to sort cells based on their magnetic properties. This technological advance has the potential to completely change the way that we analyze cells.
Implications for Future Research
The ripple effects of Durmus’ discoveries reach far and wide beyond just technological progress. These new capabilities to sort single cells with such high precision will no doubt have sweeping impacts across many of the life and physical sciences. For example, fields like immunology and cancer research would stand to gain tremendously by developing more precise cell sorting techniques.
Additionally, the possible adaptations for use in clinical diagnostics are extensive. With the ability to identify and separate viable cells from non-viable ones quickly, healthcare professionals may improve diagnostic accuracy and patient outcomes significantly. The technology will further spur innovation in drug development by allowing for less ambiguous understanding of cellular reactions.
At Electro-LEV, researchers are investigating a range of other applications. Durmus’ groundbreaking approach has the potential to unlock truly extraordinary discoveries about how cells behave and interact with one another. The thorough integration of this technology into laboratories across the globe can only serve to improve scientific discovery and healthcare practices.