Separation of blood cells using hydrodynamic lift

Using size and deformability as intrinsic biomarkers, we separate red blood cells (RBCs) from other blood components based on a repulsive hydrodynamic cell-wall-interaction. We exploit this purely viscous lift effect at low Reynolds numbers to induce a lateral migration of soft objects perpendicular to the streamlines of the fluid, which closely follows theoretical prediction by Olla [J. Phys. II 7, 1533, (1997)]. We study the effects of flow rate and fluid viscosity on the separation efficiency and demonstrate the separation of RBCs, blood platelets, and solid microspheres from each other. The method can be used for continuous and label-free cell classification and sorting in on-chip blood analysis.