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Published on: March 13, 2017
Microfluidic Mechanotyping of a Single Cell with Two Consecutive Constrictions of Different Sizes and an Electrical
Mamiko Sano1,2, Noritada Kaji2,3,4, Amy C Rowat5
1Department of Biomolecular Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering , Nagoya University , Furo-cho , Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8603 , Japan.
Abstract:
The mechanical properties of a cell, which include parameters such as elasticity, inner pressure, and tensile strength, are extremely important because changes in these properties are indicative of diseases ranging from diabetes to malignant transformation. Considering the heterogeneity within a population of cancer cells, a robust measurement system at the single cell level is required for research and in clinical purposes. In this study, a potential microfluidic device for high-throughput and practical mechanotyping were developed to investigate the deformability and sizes of cells through a single run. This mechanotyping device consisted of two different sizes of consecutive constrictions in a microchannel and measured the size of cells and related deformability during transit. Cell deformability was evaluated based on the transit and on the effects of cytoskeleton-affecting drugs, which were detected within 50 ms. The mechanotyping device was able to also measure a cell cycle without the use of fluorescent or protein tags.
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