title: Digital Microfluidics for Manipulation and Analysis of a Single Cell.
abstract: The basic structural and functional unit of a living organism is a single cell. To understand the variability and to improve the biomedical requirement of a single cell, its analysis has become a key technique in biological and biomedical research. With a physical boundary of microchannels and microstructures, single cells are efficiently captured and analyzed, whereas electric forces sort and position single cells. Various microfluidic techniques have been exploited to manipulate single cells through hydrodynamic and electric forces. Digital microfluidics (DMF), the manipulation of individual droplets holding minute reagents and cells of interest by electric forces, has received more attention recently. Because of ease of fabrication, compactness and prospective automation, DMF has become a powerful approach for biological application. We review recent developments of various microfluidic chips for analysis of a single cell and for efficient genetic screening. In addition, perspectives to develop analysis of single cells based on DMF and emerging functionality with high throughput are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan. D93b47202@ntu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Jie-Long
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan. andy80103@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: An-Te
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan. b00505004@ntu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Jyong-Huei
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan. skfan@fan-tasy.org.
authors.forename: Shih-Kang
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Fan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057205:Automation, Laboratory; D057166:High-Throughput Screening Assays / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D044085:Microfluidics / Q000379:methods*; D059010:Single-Cell Analysis / Q000379:methods*
keywords: assisted reproductive technologies; digital microfluidics; genetic screening; microfluidic chips; single cell analysis