An apparatus for manipulating particles, the apparatus comprising: a rotor rotatable at a speed about an axis, the rotor having an outer periphery and front and rear opposite sides; at least one chamber mounted on the rotor, each chamber having an inlet and an outlet; an umbilical assembly rotatable about the axis, the umbilical assembly comprising: - a curvilinear guide tube connecting to a drum at the rear side of the rotor; - a flexible conduit (130; 330) residing in the guide tube; and - first and second elongate passageways (135; 335) for each chamber extending through the conduit (130; 330), wherein the first passageway is in fluid communication with the inlet of the body portion of a respective chamber and the second passageway is in fluid communication with the outlet of the body portion of the respective chamber; and a drive mechanism configured to rotate the umbilical assembly at about one-half the speed of the rotor; wherein the passageways are held in a spaced-apart relationship relative to one another, characterized in that each chamber being attached to or mounted on the rotor such that the inlet is situated towards the outer periphery of the rotor and the outlet is situated toward the center of the rotor, and in that each chamber comprises a substantially conical body portion to form said body portion and a flange extending about at least a portion of a perimeter of the conical body portion, the flange including an inlet fluid path for communication with the inlet and an outlet fluid path for communication with the outlet, wherein the first elongate passageway of the conduit is in fluid communication with the flange inlet fluid path and the second elongate passageway of the conduit is in fluid communication with the flange outlet fluid path, so that only two of the passageways are communicating with said body portion. a rotor rotatable at a speed about an axis, the rotor having an outer periphery and front and rear opposite sides; at least one chamber mounted on the rotor, each chamber having an inlet and an outlet; an umbilical assembly rotatable about the axis, the umbilical assembly comprising: - a curvilinear guide tube connecting to a drum at the rear side of the rotor; - a flexible conduit (130; 330) residing in the guide tube; and - first and second elongate passageways (135; 335) for each chamber extending through the conduit (130; 330), wherein the first passageway is in fluid communication with the inlet of the body portion of a respective chamber and the second passageway is in fluid communication with the outlet of the body portion of the respective chamber; and - a curvilinear guide tube connecting to a drum at the rear side of the rotor; - a flexible conduit (130; 330) residing in the guide tube; and - first and second elongate passageways (135; 335) for each chamber extending through the conduit (130; 330), wherein the first passageway is in fluid communication with the inlet of the body portion of a respective chamber and the second passageway is in fluid communication with the outlet of the body portion of the respective chamber; and a drive mechanism configured to rotate the umbilical assembly at about one-half the speed of the rotor;