What is it about?
This paper reports a microfluidic chip that enables simultaneous probing of the mechanical and electrical behavior of single cells. The device features two optical fibers to induce optical trapping and stretching of the cell, and four electrodes to measure electrical properties and for electrical rotation. The work demonstrates the device for five different cell types, and studies changes in the properties of cancerous cells.
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Why is it important?
A microfluidic chip utilizing optical fibers and electrodes can determine the mechanical and electrical parameters of different cell types. The biophysical behavior of cells are key markers for cellular identification, as well as for the study of diseased cells.
Perspectives
It is desirable to have multiple parameters for cell characterization, and this work reflects such an effort. We can further increase the number of parameters to be measured and the throughput of the device.
Professor Wenhui Wang
Tsinghua University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: On-chip integrated optical stretching and electrorotation enabling single-cell biophysical analysis, Microsystems & Nanoengineering, June 2020, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1038/s41378-020-0162-2.
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