A Biochip with a 3D microfluidic architecture for trapping white blood cells

•We have developed a microfluidic biochip for trapping single white blood cells.•The biochip is microfabricated using surface micromachining processes.•The biochip consists of a microhole array that immobilizes cells in a 3D confinement.•A high (>87%) capture efficiency of white blood cells obtained using the biochip.•The biochip can be used in biology/clinical labs for capturing various cell types.

We present a microfluidic biochip for trapping single white blood cells (WBCs). The novel biochip, microfabricated using standard surface micromachining processes, consists of an array of precisely engineered microholes that confine single cells in a tight, three dimensional space and mechanically immobilize them. A high (>87%) trapping efficiency was achieved when WBC-containing samples were delivered to the biochip at the optimal pressure of 3 psi. The biochip can efficiently trap up to 7500 cells, maintaining a high trapping efficiency even when the number of cells is extremely low (∼200 cells). We believe that the developed biochip can be used as a standalone unit in a biology/clinical lab for trapping WBCs as well as other cell types and imaging them using a standard fluorescent microscope at the single cell level. Furthermore, it can be integrated with other miniaturized optical modules to construct a portable platform for counting a wide variety of cells and therefore it can be an excellent tool for monitoring human diseases at the point-of-care.