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A Microfluidic Technique to Probe Cell Deformability
Published on: September 3, 2014
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A comparison of microfluidic methods for high-throughput cell deformability measurements
Marta Urbanska1, Hector E Muñoz2, Josephine Shaw Bagnall3
1Biotechnology Center, Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Nature Methods
|April 29, 2020
Summary
This study compared three microfluidics methods for cell mechanical phenotyping. Constriction-based (cDC) and shear flow deformability cytometry (sDC) detected actin disruption, unlike extensional flow deformability cytometry (xDC).
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Cell Biology
- Microfluidics
Background:
- Cell mechanical phenotype is a key biophysical marker for cell state and function.
- Microfluidics enables high-throughput single-cell mechanophenotyping, similar to flow cytometry.
Purpose of the Study:
- To standardize and compare three microfluidics-based methods for cell mechanical phenotyping: cDC, sDC, and xDC.
- To understand the applicability and interpretation of different deformability cytometry techniques.
Main Methods:
- A cross-laboratory study comparing constriction-based (cDC), shear flow (sDC), and extensional flow (xDC) deformability cytometry.
- Assessing cell deformability changes in response to altered osmolarity and latrunculin B treatment.
Main Results:
- All three methods detected deformability changes with altered osmolarity.
- Only cDC and sDC detected a dose-dependent increase in deformability upon actin disassembly.
- xDC's higher strain rate suggests non-actin components dominate its response to actin disruption.
Conclusions:
- The study provides a direct comparison of cDC, sDC, and xDC methods for cell mechanical phenotyping.
- Findings offer context for interpreting deformability measurements across different microfluidics platforms.
- Understanding method-specific responses is crucial for accurate cell mechanophenotyping.
