Easily fabricated magnetic traps for single-cell applications

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Materials Science
• Microfluidics

Background:

• Automated systems for cell analysis are crucial in biotechnology.
• Microfluidic devices offer precise control over cellular environments.
• Developing inexpensive and effective cell manipulation tools is an ongoing challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a simple and cost-effective method for fabricating single-cell magnetic traps.
• To integrate these traps into a microfluidic device for automated yeast cell capture and analysis.
• To characterize the capture capabilities and forces of the developed magnetic traps.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) devices with plasma-patterned features.
• Catalytic deposition of Palladium chloride (PdCl2) onto PDMS.
• Electroless deposition of Cobalt-Nickel-Boron (Co-Ni-B) alloy to form magnetic traps.
• Demonstration of single yeast cell capture within the microfluidic device.
• Estimation of magnetic trap capture force by measuring cell displacement under fluid flow.

Main Results:

• Successful fabrication of single-cell magnetic traps using a simple and inexpensive method.
• Demonstration of reliable capture of individual yeast cells within the microfluidic device.
• Quantification of the magnetic trap's capture force, ranging from 1.9 to 4.4 picoNewtons (pN).
• Integration of the magnetic traps into a system for automated cell analysis during budding.

Conclusions:

• The developed method provides an accessible approach for creating magnetic traps for single-cell manipulation.
• The magnetic traps are effective for capturing and holding individual yeast cells in microfluidic systems.
• This technology facilitates automated, high-throughput analysis of cellular processes like budding at the single-cell level.