High-resolution analyses of cell fusion dynamics in a biochip

In this study, we analyzed the electrofusion of two cells in a biochip that has been developed to perform the capture by dielectrophoresis and the electrofusion of pairs of cells. The good transparency of the microsystem allowed analyzing the details of the fusion events. By staining one of the cells, the mixing of the two cytosols could be observed during the electrofusion experiment. We show for the first time the rapidity of the mixing of the two cytosols: less than 5 s under our experimental conditions. By comparing these experimental results to a numerical simulation, we found that the rate of this phenomenon is compatible with a diffusion-only mechanism, showing that during the fusion, the two cell membranes in contact are affected by very rapid structural changes and do not limit the exchange of the cytosols between the two cells. A point of interest is the use of dielectric structures to concentrate the electric field and of positive dielectrophoresis to capture cells in the area where the electric field is more intense. This technique allows the increase of the cell-to-cell contact and limits cell cytosol leakages during the fusion process.