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Updated: Apr 14, 2026
A Microfluidic Platform for High-throughput Single-cell Isolation and Culture
Published on: June 16, 2016
CellTrap: an instrument-free microfluidic platform for cell-cell interactions at stochastically generated
Muhammad Zia Ullah Khan1, Morteza Hasanzadeh Kafshgari2, Ali Bashiri Dezfouli3
1Control and Manipulation of Microscale Living Objects, Center for Translational Cancer Research (TranslaTUM), Munich Institute of Biomedical Engineering (MIBE), Munich Institute of Integrated Materials, Energy and Process Engineering (MEP), Department of Electrical Engineering, School of Computation, Information and Technology (CIT), Technical University of Munich (TUM) Einsteinstraße 25 Munich 81675 Germany ghulam.destgeer@tum.de.
We developed CellTrap, a microfluidic device for analyzing immune-cancer cell interactions at the single-cell level. This tool enables precise control of effector-to-target ratios, advancing immunotherapy research.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Cancer Research
- Immunology
Background:
- Immune-cancer cell interactions are crucial for antitumor responses and immunotherapy evaluation.
- Long-term, single-cell analysis of these interactions presents significant technical challenges.
- Existing methods struggle to provide precise control over effector-to-target ratios and minimize crosstalk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel microfluidic device, CellTrap, for high-throughput, single-cell analysis of immune-cancer cell interactions.
- To enable precise control and variation of effector-to-target ratios within a microfluidic platform.
- To facilitate long-term, real-time monitoring of immune cell-mediated cytotoxicity.
Main Methods:
- Development of an instrument-free, perfusion-capable microfluidic device with 1024 parallel traps, each featuring a filter constriction.
- Utilizing stochastic Poisson loading for simultaneous generation of internal controls and variable effector-to-target ratios.
- Employing continuous time-lapse imaging to monitor cellular interactions and intracellular calcium fluxes.
Main Results:
- Device characterization confirmed predictable trap occupancy governed by Poisson statistics.
- Proof-of-concept experiments demonstrated targeted, immune-mediated cytotoxicity of glioblastoma cells by human PBMCs.
- Standardized experiments with Natural Killer cells showed increased target cell lysis with higher effector-to-target ratios, linking calcium signaling to cytotoxicity.
Conclusions:
- CellTrap provides a robust platform for dissecting complex immune-cancer cell dynamics at the single-cell level.
- The device enables precise manipulation of effector-to-target ratios, crucial for understanding immunotherapy efficacy.
- This technology has the potential to guide the development of personalized immunotherapies by characterizing immune responses.
