Anal. Chem., 75 (14), 3581 -3586, 2003. 10.1021/ac0340758 S0003-2700(03)04075-7
Web Release Date: May 14, 2003

Copyright © 2003 American Chemical Society

Microfluidic Device for Single-Cell Analysis

Aaron R. Wheeler, William R. Throndset, Rebecca J. Whelan, Andrew M. Leach, Richard N. Zare,* Yish Hann Liao, Kevin Farrell, Ian D. Manger, and Antoine Daridon*

Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-5080, and Fluidigm Corporation, 7100 Shoreline Court, South San Francisco, California 94080

Received for review January 24, 2003. Accepted April 9, 2003.

Abstract:

We have developed a novel microfluidic device constructed from poly(dimethylsiloxane) using multilayer soft lithography technology for the analysis of single cells. The microfluidic network enables the passive and gentle separation of a single cell from the bulk cell suspension, and integrated valves and pumps enable the precise delivery of nanoliter volumes of reagents to that cell. Various applications are demonstrated, including cell viability assays, ionophore-mediated intracellular Ca2+ flux measurements, and multistep receptor-mediated Ca2+ measurements. These assays, and others, are achieved with significant improvements in reagent consumption, analysis time, and temporal resolution over macroscale alternatives.

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