title: Deformability-based microfluidic cell pairing and fusion.
abstract: We present a microfluidic cell pairing device capable of sequential trapping and pairing of hundreds of cells using passive hydrodynamics and flow-induced deformation. We describe the design and operation principles of our device and show its applicability for cell fusion. Using our device, we achieved both homotypic and heterotypic cell pairing, demonstrating efficiencies up to 80%. The platform is compatible with fusion protocols based on biological, chemical and physical stimuli with fusion yields up to 95%. Our device further permits its disconnection from the fluidic hardware enabling its transportation for imaging and culture while maintaining cell registration on chip. Our design principles and cell trapping technique can readily be applied for different cell types and can be extended to trap and fuse multiple (>2) cell partners as demonstrated by our preliminary experiments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 36-824, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. voldman@mit.edu.
authors.forename: Burak
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dura
authors.forename: Yaoping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Voldman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002459:Cell Fusion; D002460:Cell Line; D048430:Cell Shape; D048429:Cell Size; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004867:Equipment Design; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006822:Hybrid Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008422:Materials Testing; D051379:Mice; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D018583:Pliability; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000494:pharmacology; D066330:Printing, Three-Dimensional; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D059008:Time-Lapse Imaging; D014760:Viral Fusion Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014760:Viral Fusion Proteins; C485184:enhanced green fluorescent protein; C413663:fluorescent protein 583; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols