A microfluidic chip for the versatile chemical analysis of single cells. 2013

Klaus Eyer, and Phillip Kuhn, and Simone Stratz, and Petra S Dittrich
Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

We present a microfluidic device that enables the quantitative determination of intracellular biomolecules in multiple single cells in parallel. For this purpose, the cells are passively trapped in the middle of a microchamber. Upon activation of the control layer, the cell is isolated from the surrounding volume in a small chamber. The surrounding volume can then be exchanged without affecting the isolated cell. However, upon short opening and closing of the chamber, the solution in the chamber can be replaced within a few hundred milliseconds. Due to the reversibility of the chambers, the cells can be exposed to different solutions sequentially in a highly controllable fashion, e.g. for incubation, washing, and finally, cell lysis. The tightly sealed microchambers enable the retention of the lysate, minimize and control the dilution after cell lysis. Since lysis and analysis occur at the same location, high sensitivity is retained because no further dilution or loss of the analytes occurs during transport. The microchamber design therefore enables the reliable and reproducible analysis of very small copy numbers of intracellular molecules (attomoles, zeptomoles) released from individual cells. Furthermore, many microchambers can be arranged in an array format, allowing the analysis of many cells at once, given that suitable optical instruments are used for monitoring. We have already used the platform for proof-of-concept studies to analyze intracellular proteins, enzymes, cofactors and second messengers in either relative or absolute quantifiable manner.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D004129 Dimethylpolysiloxanes Silicone polymers which consist of silicon atoms substituted with methyl groups and linked by oxygen atoms. They comprise a series of biocompatible materials used as liquids, gels or solids; as film for artificial membranes, gels for implants, and liquids for drug vehicles; and as antifoaming agents. Dimethylsiloxanes,Polydimethylsiloxanes,Dimethylpolysiloxane,Dimethylsiloxane
D004867 Equipment Design Methods and patterns of fabricating machines and related hardware. Design, Equipment,Device Design,Medical Device Design,Design, Medical Device,Designs, Medical Device,Device Design, Medical,Device Designs, Medical,Medical Device Designs,Design, Device,Designs, Device,Designs, Equipment,Device Designs,Equipment Designs
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012825 Silicon A trace element that constitutes about 27.6% of the earth's crust in the form of SILICON DIOXIDE. It does not occur free in nature. Silicon has the atomic symbol Si, atomic number 14, and atomic weight [28.084; 28.086]. Silicon-28,Silicon 28
D046210 Microfluidic Analytical Techniques Methods utilizing the principles of MICROFLUIDICS for sample handling, reagent mixing, and separation and detection of specific components in fluids. Microfluidic Analysis,Analyses, Microfluidic,Analysis, Microfluidic,Analytical Technique, Microfluidic,Analytical Techniques, Microfluidic,Microfluidic Analyses,Microfluidic Analytical Technique,Technique, Microfluidic Analytical,Techniques, Microfluidic Analytical
D057809 HEK293 Cells A cell line generated from human embryonic kidney cells that were transformed with human adenovirus type 5. 293T Cells,HEK 293 Cell Line,HEK 293 Cells,Human Embryonic Kidney Cell Line 293,Human Kidney Cell Line 293,293 Cell, HEK,293 Cells, HEK,293T Cell,Cell, 293T,Cell, HEK 293,Cell, HEK293,Cells, 293T,Cells, HEK 293,Cells, HEK293,HEK 293 Cell,HEK293 Cell
D059010 Single-Cell Analysis Assaying the products of or monitoring various biochemical processes and reactions in an individual cell. Analyses, Single-Cell,Analysis, Single-Cell,Single Cell Analysis,Single-Cell Analyses
D020298 U937 Cells A human cell line established from a diffuse histiocytic lymphoma (HISTIOCYTIC LYMPHOMA, DIFFUSE) and displaying many monocytic characteristics. It serves as an in vitro model for MONOCYTE and MACROPHAGE differentiation. Cell, U937,Cells, U937,U937 Cell

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