Enrichment of putative stem cells from adipose tissue using dielectrophoretic field-flow fractionation.

We have applied the microfluidic cell separation method of dielectrophoretic field-flow fractionation (DEP-FFF) to the enrichment of a putative stem cell population from an enzyme-digested adipose tissue derived cell suspension. A DEP-FFF separator device was constructed using a novel microfluidic-microelectronic hybrid flex-circuit fabrication approach that is scaleable and anticipates future low-cost volume manufacturing. We report the separation of a nucleated cell fraction from cell debris and the bulk of the erythrocyte population, with the relatively rare (<2% starting concentration) NG2-positive cell population (pericytes and/or putative progenitor cells) being enriched up to 14-fold. This work demonstrates a potential clinical application for DEP-FFF and further establishes the utility of the method for achieving label-free fractionation of cell subpopulations.