Recent advances in microfluidic technology for manipulation and analysis of biological cells (2007-2017)

The pivotal role of microfluidic technology in life science and biomedical research is now widely recognized. Indeed, microfluidics as a research tool is unparalleled in terms of its biocompatibility, robustness, efficient reagent consumption, and controlled fluidic, surface, and structure environments. The controlled environments are essential in assessing the complex behavior of cells in response to microenvironmental cues. The strengths of microfluidics also reside in its amenability to integration with other analytical platforms and its capacity for miniaturization, parallelization and automation of biochemical assays. Following previous review on the applications of microfluidic devices for cell-based assays in 2006, we have monitored the progress in the field and summarized the advances in microfluidic technology from 2007 to 2017, with a focus on microfluidics development for applications in cell manipulation, cell capture and detection, and cell treatment and analysis. Moreover, we highlighted novel commercial microfluidic products for biomedical and clinical purposes that were introduced in the review period. Thus, this review provides a comprehensive source for recent developments in microfluidics and presents a snapshot of its remarkable contribution towards basic biomedical research and clinical science. We recognize that although enormous amounts of evidence have reinforced the promise of microfluidic technology across diverse applications, much remains to be done to realize its full potential in mainstream biomedical science and clinical practice.