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This paper presents the instrumentation of a microfluidic analyzer enabling the characterization of single-cell biophysical properties, which includes seven key components: a microfluidic module, a pressure module, an imaging module, an impedance module, two LabVIEW platforms for instrument operation and raw data processing, respectively, and a Python code for data translation. Under the control of the LabVIEW platform for instrument operation, the pressure module flushes single cells into the microfluidic module with raw biophysical parameters sampled by the imaging and impedance modules and processed by the LabVIEW platform for raw data processing, which were further translated into intrinsic cellular biophysical parameters using the code developed in Python. Based on this system, specific membrane capacitance, cytoplasm conductivity, and instantaneous Young's modulus of three cell types were quantified as 2.76 ± 0.57 κF/cm2, 1.00 ± 0.14 S/m, and 3.79 ± 1.11 kPa for A549 cells (ncell = 202); 1.88 ± 0.31 κF/ cm2, 1.05 ± 0.16 S/m, and 3.74 ± 0.75 kPa for 95D cells (ncell = 257); 2.11 ± 0.38 κF/ cm2, 0.87 ± 0.11 S/m, and 5.39 ± 0.89 kPa for H460 cells (ncell = 246). As a semi-automatic instrument with a throughput of roughly 1 cell per second, this prototype instrument can be potentially used for the characterization of cellular biophysical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This mini-review presents recent progresses in the development of microfluidic constriction channels enabling high-throughputmechanical property characterization of single cells. We first summarized the applications of the constriction channel design in quantifying mechanical properties of various types of cells including red blood cells, white blood cells, and tumor cells. Then we highlighted the efforts in modeling the cellular entry process into the constriction channel, enabling the translation of raw mechanical data (e.g., cellular entry time into the constriction channel) into intrinsic cellular mechanical properties such as cortical tension or Young's modulus. In the end, current limitations and future research opportunities of the microfluidic constriction channels were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a research paper that discusses a microfluidics-based approach that is capable of characterizing instantaneous Young's modulus and specific membrane capacitance of suspended single cells. In the study cells were aspirated through a constriction channel and the cellular entry process into the channel was recorded using a high speed camera. It informs that the study provides a more comprehensive understanding of cellular digital imaging systems properties.

Single-cell electrical properties (e.g., specific membrane capacitance (Cspecific membrane) and cytoplasm conductivity (σcytoplasm)) have been regarded as potential label-free biophysical markers for the evaluation of cellular status. However, whether there exist correlations between these biophysical markers and cellular status (e.g., membrane-associate protein expression) is still unknown. To further validate the utility of single-cell electrical properties in cell type classification, Cspecific membrane and σcytoplasm of single PC-3 cells with membrane staining and/or fixation were analyzed and compared in this study. Four subtypes of PC-3 cells were prepared: untreated PC-3 cells, PC-3 cells with anti-EpCAM staining, PC-3 cells with fixation, and fixed PC-3 cells with anti-EpCAM staining. In experiments, suspended single cells were aspirated through microfluidic constriction channels with raw impedance data quantified and translated to Cspecific membrane and σcytoplasm. As to experimental results, significant differences in Cspecific membrane were observed for both live and fixed PC-3 cells with and without membrane staining, indicating that membrane staining proteins can contribute to electrical properties of cellular membranes. In addition, a significant decrease in σcytoplasm was located for PC-3 cells with and without fixation, suggesting that cytoplasm protein crosslinking during the fixation process can alter the cytoplasm conductivity. Overall, we have demonstrated how to classify single cells based on cellular electrical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]