Automation of radioactive cell labeling using microfluidic acoustophoresis

The Molecular Imaging Branch is currently working on an R&D project to automate the processes of radiolabeling immune cells with 89Zr-Oxine. The current process is manual, requires a high level of training and is prone to failure due to user error. The technology being exploited to automate the radiolabeling process is based on a subfield of microfluidics called acoustophoresis. One exploits the physics of cell interactions within laminar flows and ultrasound vibrational forces to move cells from one laminar flow channel to another. This is one of the important steps in cell radiolabeling which the student will be studying.

The project will be receiving a new acoustophoresis system with enhance capabilities which will allow to extend the process from moving cells from one solution to another using acoustophoresis processes, but also to increase the cell concentration in the resulting cell suspension. This increase in cell concentration will be introduced into the acoustophoresis method for cell radiolabeling.

The student will perform experiments with this new acoustophoresis system aimed at determining the ability of radiolabeling cells with this system to achieve target labeling efficiency and cell viability.

Intern Name: Emma Stevenson

Institution: University of Alabama, Birmingham

Project Title: Cell Radiolabeling using Acoustophoresis