Magnetic millifluidic fractionation of a heterogeneous yeast cell culture

Yeast are single-cell fungi, which are used in different fields, like in fermentation processes in food industry or in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Until now, it is not possible to investigate the stress reactions of single yeast cells – e.g. on alcohol or salt – depending on their age. Therefore, it is the aim of this project to develop a millifluidic chip for the separation of yeast cells. The age dependent fractionation is based on the binding of magnetic nanoparticles to the yeast cells, resulting in a different deflection in a magnetic field. The implementation of a simulative model should support the experimental process development and the subsequent validation of the chip.

Supervisor: Dr. Sebastian Schwaminger