Method and system for buoyant separation
A method and system for buoyant separation of a target constituent of a sample, the method comprising: at a process chamber, combining a volume of substrates having a first density with the sample, thereby producing a population of target-bound complexes comprising the target constituent bound to at least a portion of the volume of substrates; within the process chamber, physically separating the population of target-bound complexes from the sample based upon interaction between the volume of substrates and an applied force; aggregating the population of target-bound complexes at a collection region of the process chamber; extracting the population of target-bound complexes from the process chamber; and processing the target constituent from the population of target-bound complexes for further analysis.
1. A method for buoyant separation of a set of target constituents of a sample comprising:
at a process chamber defining a single cavity, receiving:
the sample comprising the set of target constituents and a set of non-target constituents, wherein bulk fluid of the sample has a first density;
a volume of buoyant glass microbubble substrates having a second density, the second density less than the first density, wherein the buoyant glass microbubble substrates are configured to bind to at least a portion of the set of target constituents, and wherein the buoyant glass microbubble substrates and the set of target constituents are received at the process chamber at a volume ratio between 1:2 and 5:1;
a separation buffer;
thereby producing a set of target-bound complexes;
within the process chamber, reducing a distance between target-bound complexes of the set of target-bound complexes, thereby increasing a speed at which the set of target-bound complexes separate from a remainder of the bulk fluid of the sample;
within the process chamber, spatially separating the set of target-bound complexes from the remainder of the bulk fluid of the sample, wherein spatially separating comprises concentrating the set of target-bound complexes at a superior region of the process chamber;
removing the set of target-bound complexes from the superior region of the process chamber; and
processing the set of non-target constituents in the process chamber.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising coating each of the buoyant glass microbubble substrates with aminosilane.
3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising functionalizing the surface of each buoyant glass microbubble substrate with a set of biomolecules configured to bind to at least a portion of the set of target constituents after the coating of each of the buoyant glass microbubble substrates with aminosilane.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the process chamber has a non-decreasing diameter along a total length of the process chamber from an inferior-most point of the process chamber to a superior-most point of the process chamber.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the process chamber comprises a centrifuge tube.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein each buoyant glass microbubble substrate of the volume of buoyant glass microbubble substrates has a diameter less than 30 micrometers.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the diameter is between 10 and 20 micrometers.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein reducing the distance comprises adjusting an orientation of the process chamber.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein adjusting the orientation of the process chamber comprises centrifuging the process chamber along an axis arranged non-parallel to a long axis of the process chamber.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the applied change in orientation of the process chamber comprises tilting the process chamber.
11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising mixing the sample and the volume of buoyant glass microbubble substrates within the single cavity with a pipette.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the volume of buoyant glass microbubble substrates at the process chamber comprises receiving the volume of buoyant glass microbubble substrates from a storage buffer configured to maintain a stability of the buoyant glass microbubble substrates.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing the target-bound complexes from the superior region of the process chamber comprises aspirating the target-bound complexes from the superior region.
14. A method for buoyant separation of a set of target constituents of a sample, the method comprising:
at a process chamber, receiving:
the sample comprising the set of target constituents and a set of non-target constituents, wherein bulk fluid of the sample has a first density;
a volume of buoyant microbubble substrates having a second density, the second density less than the first density, wherein the buoyant microbubble substrates are configured to bind with at least a portion of the set of target constituents;
a separation buffer;
thereby producing a set of target-bound complexes, wherein the volume of buoyant microbubble substrates and the set of target constituents are received at the process chamber at a ratio between 1:2 and 5:1;
within the process chamber, spatially separating the set of target-bound complexes from the remainder of the bulk fluid of the sample, wherein spatially separating comprises concentrating the set of target-bound complexes at a superior region of the process chamber;
removing the set of target-bound complexes from the superior region of the process chamber; and
processing the set of non-target constituents in the process chamber.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein each buoyant microbubble substrate of the volume of buoyant microbubble substrates comprises at least one of a plastic, lipid, and glass.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein each buoyant microbubble substrate of the volume of buoyant microbubble substrates comprises glass.
17. The method of claim 14 , wherein the process chamber defines a single cavity.
18. The method of claim 14 , wherein the ratio is between 1:1 and 2.5:1.
19. The method of claim 14 , further comprising within the process chamber, reducing a distance between target-bound complexes of the set of target-bound complexes, thereby increasing a speed at which the set of target-bound complexes separate from a remainder of the bulk fluid of the sample.
20. The method of claim 19 , wherein reducing a distance comprises adjusting an orientation of the process chamber.
21. The method of claim 14 , wherein processing the set of non-target constituents in the process chamber comprises receiving a second buffer at the process chamber after removing the target-bound complexes.