Capacitance cytometry: measuring biological cells one by one

Measuring the DNA content of eukaryotic cells is a fundamental task in biology and medicine. We have observed a linear relationship between the DNA content of eukaryotic cells and the change in capacitance that is evoked by the passage of individual cells across a 1-kHz electric field. This relationship is species-independent; consequently, we have developed a microfluidic technique-"capacitance cytometry"-that can be used to quantify the DNA content of single eukaryotic cells and to analyze the cell-cycle kinetics of populations of cells. Comparisons with standard flow cytometry demonstrate the sensitivity of this new technique.