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A Microfluidic Chip for the Versatile Chemical Analysis of Single Cells

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Quantitative control of mitochondria transfer between live single cells using a microfluidic device.

Ken-Ichi Wada¹, Kazuo Hosokawa², Yoshihiro Ito³

¹Bioengineering Laboratory, RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan ki-wada@riken.jp.

|November 3, 2017

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Researchers developed a microfluidic device for precise control over mitochondria transfer between live cells. This method enables quantitative control, including single mitochondrion transfer, for genetic manipulation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA).

Area of Science:

Cell Biology
Bioengineering
Genetics

Background:

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) manipulation is crucial for genetic therapies.
Achieving homoplasmy requires controlled transfer of mitochondria to mtDNA-less cells.
Existing methods lack precise control over mitochondria transfer.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a method for quantitative control of mitochondria transfer between live single cells.
To enable single mitochondrion transfer for mtDNA genetic manipulation.
To investigate the relationship between cytoplasmic connection length and mitochondria transfer.

Main Methods:

Fabrication of novel microfluidic devices with varying microtunnel lengths (4.1, 5.6, 10.0 μm).
Cell fusion using Sendai virus envelope-based method through microtunnels.

Keywords:

Cell fusion Homoplasmic mutation of mtDNA Mitochondrial cloning

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Last Updated: Feb 19, 2026

A Microfluidic Chip for the Versatile Chemical Analysis of Single Cells

A Microfluidic Chip for the Versatile Chemical Analysis of Single Cells

Published on: October 15, 2013

Generation of Dynamical Environmental Conditions using a High-Throughput Microfluidic Device

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Published on: April 17, 2021

A Microfluidic Device for Studying Multiple Distinct Strains

A Microfluidic Device for Studying Multiple Distinct Strains

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Quantitative analysis of mitochondria transfer and cytoplasmic connection dynamics.

Main Results:

Microtunnels created structured cytoplasmic connections proportional to their length.
Longer connections reduced mitochondria transfer efficiency.
Single mitochondrion transfer was observed in cells fused via 10.0 μm microtunnels.
Fused cells spontaneously disconnected in normal culture medium.

Conclusions:

The developed microfluidic cell fusion method allows quantitative control of mitochondria transfer.
This technique facilitates precise control, including single mitochondrion transfer.
The method holds promise for genetic manipulation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA).