"Cell-On-Demand" Digital Microfluidics for Real-Time Low-Abundance Single-Cell Isolation and Sample Analysis

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Microfluidics
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Studying low-abundance cells is crucial for understanding unique biological functions.
• Current single-cell isolation methods lack individual control, limiting further bio-analysis.
• Efficient single-cell isolation technology is needed to enhance detection sensitivity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a "cell-on-demand" microfluidics platform for real-time manipulation of low-abundance single cells.
• To improve the efficiency and precision of isolating rare cells from heterogeneous populations.
• To validate the platform's utility in biological and drug sensitivity analyses.

Main Methods:

• Development of a large-scale digital microfluidics platform with "cell-on-demand" capabilities.
• Implementation of on-demand droplet splitting for targeted-search-guided cell isolation.
• Application of the platform to isolate single tumor spheroids from heterogeneous samples for drug sensitivity testing.

Main Results:

• The "cell-on-demand" method demonstrated nearly eightfold greater effectiveness in isolating 1% low-abundance single cells compared to conventional strategies.
• Homogeneous single-target tumor spheroids were successfully isolated from heterogeneous samples.
• Drug sensitivity testing (IC50) for Fluorouracil, Irinotecan, and Oxaliplatin showed significant differences and high consistency with well-plate assays.

Conclusions:

• The "cell-on-demand" microfluidics platform offers efficient and precise isolation of low-abundance single cells.
• The platform is capable of processing both high and low-abundance samples, indicating broad applicability.
• This technology shows significant potential for various applications in cell biology and personalized medicine.