Contactless Single Cell Extraction From Monolayer Cell Culture Using a MEMS Acoustic Droplet Ejector

To achieve a contactless and damage-less extraction of a single (or a few) human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell(s) from a cell monolayer with acoustic droplet ejection.

An acoustic droplet ejector based on a self-focusing acoustic transducer (SFAT) is designed, microfabricated, and placed on a precision movable stage that aligns it to the targeted cell(s) in a Petri dish. The device delivers 20.1 MHz focused ultrasound (FUS) with a focal diameter of 100 μm, which ejects droplets capable of extracting and transferring only the targeted cell(s) from a monolayer.

The extraction and collection of 1-10 cells are successfully demonstrated. The number of ejected cells can be controlled by the FUS pulse width. As confirmed by fluorescence-based cell viability assays and re-culture experiments, the ejected cell(s) and remaining monolayer cells are intact without damage after cell ejection. Furthermore, real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests for both housekeeping genes (GAPDH and -actin) and RPE-specific genes (MITF, PEDF, and PMEL17) show no significant difference between the acoustically ejected cells and those collected manually with a micropipette.

The proposed technology realizes a contactless, damage-free extraction of cells with high spatial resolution and precise control of the number of cells ejected, with a simple setup.

This powerful technology not only enables efficient, high-precision cell extraction for quality check applications but also opens new avenues for other advanced biotechnologies such as bioprinting.