Real-time deformability cytometry as a label-free indicator of cell function.

Area of Science:

• Biophysics
• Cell Biology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Cell mechanical properties are inherent markers of biological function.
• Current measurement techniques lack the throughput for widespread use.
• A need exists for rapid, label-free cell characterization.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce real-time deformability cytometry (RT-DC) for high-throughput single-cell mechanical analysis.
• Demonstrate RT-DC's capability for classifying heterogeneous cell populations.
• Highlight RT-DC's potential in identifying rare cells and drug-induced changes.

Main Methods:

• Cells are passed through a microfluidic chip's constriction zone, deforming under hydrodynamic forces.
• Custom image processing software handles real-time image acquisition, analysis, and data storage.
• Cell deformations are quantified to derive material properties using an analytical model.

Main Results:

• RT-DC achieves continuous mechanical single-cell classification at rates of hundreds of cells per second.
• The technique enables label-free, quantitative phenotyping of heterogeneous cell populations.
• RT-DC successfully identified rare objects and tracked drug-induced cellular changes.

Conclusions:

• RT-DC provides a high-throughput, label-free method for cell mechanical property measurement.
• This technique offers throughput comparable to standard flow cytometry for cell phenotyping.
• RT-DC is a powerful tool for analyzing cell mechanics in various biological contexts.