A microfluidic single-cell array for in situ laminar-flow-based comparative culturing of budding yeast cells

• Published in: Talanta (Oxford) 2021-08, Vol.231, p.122401-122401, Article 122401
• Main Authors: Zhu, Zhen, Wang, Yingying, Peng, Ruobo, Chen, Pan, Geng, Yangye, He, Bailiang, Ouyang, Shuiping, Zheng, Ke, Fan, Yimin, Pan, Dejing, Jin, Nan, Rudolf, Fabian, Hierlemann, Andreas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cell trapping; Comparative cell culturing; Microfluidics; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Single-cell analysis
• ISSN: 0039-9140; 1873-3573
• DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2021.122401

To facilitate in situ comparative culturing of budding yeast cells in a precisely controlled microenvironment, we developed a microfluidic single-cell array (MiSCA) with 96 traps (16 rows × 6 columns) for single-cell immobilization. Through optimization of the distances between neighboring traps and the applied flow rates by using a hydraulic equivalent circuit of the fluidic network, yeast cells were delivered to each column of the array by laminar focused flows and reliably captured at the traps by hydrodynamic forces with about 90% efficiency of cell immobilization. Immobilized cells in different columns within the same device can then be cultured in parallel while being exposed to different media and compounds delivered by laminar flows. For biological validation of the comparative cell-culturing device, we used budding yeast that can express yellow fluorescent protein upon the addition of β-estradiol in cell-culturing medium. Experimental results show successful induction of fluorescence in cells immobilized in desired columns that have been dosed with β-estradiol. The MiSCA system allows for performing sets of experiments and control experiments in parallel in the same device, or for executing comparative experiments under well-defined laminar-perfusion conditions with different media, as well as in situ monitoring of dynamic cellular responses upon different analytical compounds or reagents for single-cell analysis. [Display omitted] •Microfluidic single-cell array with 96 traps is developed for cell immobilization.•Hydraulic equivalent circuit model is established to optimize the fluidic network.•Yeast cells are delivered to each column of the array by laminar focused flows.•Cells in different columns are exposed to precisely controlled medium conditions.•MiSCA enables in situ comparison of cell culturing and dynamic cellular responses.