Engineering quadrupole magnetic flow sorting for the isolation of pancreatic islets

Quadrupole magnetic flow sorting (QMS) is being adapted from the separation of suspensions of single cells (<15 mu m) to the isolation of pancreatic islets (150-350 mu m) for transplant. To achieve this goal, the critical QMS components have been modeled and engineered to optimize the separation process. A flow channel has been designed, manufactured, and tested. The quadrupole magnet assembly has been designed and verified by finite element analysis. Pumps have been selected and verified by test. Test data generated from the pumps and flow channel demonstrate that the fabricated channel and peristaltic pumps fulfill the requirements of successful QMS separation. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.