Emerging clinical applications of microchip-based acoustophoresis.

Acoustophoresis is currently in a state of transition from the academic laboratories, moving into the biomedical laboratories and industries. Clear areas of interest are seen in clinical diagnostics and therapeutics, where new approaches to cell handling and purification are emphasized as highly potent areas. This article outlines some of the basic unit operations of acoustophoresis, where applications as cell washing, binary separation, free-flow acoustophoresis, and affinity acoustophoresis are highlighted. The most recent steps to move acoustophoresis into clinical and preclinical applications are also presented.