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Abstract
Electroporation (EP) is a commonly used strategy to increase cell permeability for intracellular cargo delivery or irreversible cell membrane disruption using electric fields. In recent years, EP performance has been improved by shrinking electrodes and device structures to the microscale. Integration with microfluidics has led to the design of devices performing static EP, where cells are fixed in a defined region, or continuous EP, where cells constantly pass through the device. Each device type performs superior to conventional, macroscale EP devices while providing additional advantages in precision manipulation (static EP) and increased throughput (continuous EP). Microscale EP is gentle on cells and has enabled more sensitive assaying of cells with novel applications. In this Review, we present the physical principles of microscale EP devices and examine design trends in recent years. In addition, we discuss the use of reversible and irreversible EP in the development of therapeutics and analysis of intracellular contents, among other noteworthy applications. This Review aims to inform and encourage scientists and engineers to expand the use of efficient and versatile microscale EP technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sung-Eun Choi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
| | - Harrison Khoo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
| | - Soojung Claire Hur
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
- Institute for NanoBioTechnology, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University, 401 North Broadway, Baltimore, Maryland 21231, United States
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2
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Manzoor AA, Romita L, Hwang DK. A review on microwell and microfluidic geometric array fabrication techniques and its potential applications in cellular studies. CAN J CHEM ENG 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/cjce.23875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ahmad Ali Manzoor
- Department of Chemical Engineering Ryerson University Toronto Ontario Canada
- Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science St. Michael's Hospital Toronto Ontario Canada
- Institute for Biomedical Engineering Science and Technology (iBEST) A partnership between Ryerson University and St. Michael's Hospital Toronto Ontario Canada
| | - Lauren Romita
- Department of Chemical Engineering Ryerson University Toronto Ontario Canada
- Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science St. Michael's Hospital Toronto Ontario Canada
- Institute for Biomedical Engineering Science and Technology (iBEST) A partnership between Ryerson University and St. Michael's Hospital Toronto Ontario Canada
| | - Dae Kun Hwang
- Department of Chemical Engineering Ryerson University Toronto Ontario Canada
- Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science St. Michael's Hospital Toronto Ontario Canada
- Institute for Biomedical Engineering Science and Technology (iBEST) A partnership between Ryerson University and St. Michael's Hospital Toronto Ontario Canada
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3
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Yu J, Sun G, Lin NW, Vadanan SV, Lim S, Chen CH. Intelligent optofluidic analysis for ultrafast single bacterium profiling of cellulose production and morphology. LAB ON A CHIP 2020; 20:626-633. [PMID: 31919490 DOI: 10.1039/c9lc01105f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Bacterial cellulose (BC), a renewable type of cellulose, has been used in the manufacture of foods, cosmetics, and biomedical products. To produce BC, a high-throughput single-bacterium measurement is necessary to identify the functional bacteria that can produce BC with sufficient amount and desirable morphology. In this study, a continuous-flow intelligent optofluidic device was developed to enable high-throughput single-bacterium profiling of BC. Single bacteria were incubated in agarose hydrogel particles to produce BC with varied densities and structures. An intelligent convolutional neural network (CNN) computational method was developed to analyze the scattering patterns of BC. The BC production and morphology were determined with a throughput of ∼35 bacteria per second. A total of ∼105 single-bacterium BC samples were characterized within 3 hours. The high flexibility of this approach facilitates high-throughput comprehensive single-cell production analysis for a range of applications in engineering biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaqing Yu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 117575 Singapore
| | - Guoyun Sun
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 117575 Singapore
| | - Nicholas Weikang Lin
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 117575 Singapore
| | | | - Sierin Lim
- School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 637457 Singapore
| | - Chia-Hung Chen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong.
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4
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Salimi E, Braasch K, Butler M, Thomson DJ, Bridges GE. Dielectrophoresis study of temporal change in internal conductivity of single CHO cells after electroporation by pulsed electric fields. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2017; 11:014111. [PMID: 28289483 PMCID: PMC5315669 DOI: 10.1063/1.4975978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2016] [Accepted: 01/27/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Applying sufficiently strong pulsed electric fields to a cell can permeabilize the membrane and subsequently affect its dielectric properties. In this study, we employ a microfluidic dielectrophoresis cytometry technique to simultaneously electroporate and measure the time-dependent dielectric response of single Chinese hamster ovary cells. Using experimental measurements along with numerical simulations, we present quantitative results for the changes in the cytoplasm conductivity of single cells within seconds after exposure to 100 μs duration pulsed electric fields with various intensities. It is shown that, for electroporation in a medium with conductivity lower than that of the cell's cytoplasm, the internal conductivity of the cell decreases after the electroporation on a time scale of seconds and stronger pulses cause a larger and more rapid decrease. We also observe that, after the electroporation, the cell's internal conductivity is constrained to a threshold. This implies that the cell prevents some of the ions in its cytoplasm from diffusing through the created pores to the external medium. The temporal change in the dielectric response of each individual cell is continuously monitored over minutes after exposure to pulsed electric fields. A time constant associated with the cell's internal conductivity change is observed, which ranges from seconds to tens of seconds depending on the applied pulse intensity. This experimental observation supports the results of numerical models reported in the literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Salimi
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Manitoba , Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 5V6, Canada
| | - K Braasch
- Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba , Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - M Butler
- Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba , Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - D J Thomson
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Manitoba , Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 5V6, Canada
| | - G E Bridges
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Manitoba , Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 5V6, Canada
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5
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Kim SH, Fujii T. Efficient analysis of a small number of cancer cells at the single-cell level using an electroactive double-well array. LAB ON A CHIP 2016; 16:2440-9. [PMID: 27189335 DOI: 10.1039/c6lc00241b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Analysis of the intracellular materials of a small number of cancer cells at the single-cell level is important to improve our understanding of cellular heterogeneity in rare cells. To analyze an extremely small number of cancer cells (less than hundreds of cells), an efficient system is required in order to analyze target cells with minimal sample loss. Here, we present a novel approach utilizing an advanced electroactive double-well array (EdWA) for on-chip analysis of a small number of cancer cells at the single-cell level with minimal loss of target cells. The EdWA consisted of cell-sized trap-wells for deterministic single-cell trapping using dielectrophoresis and high aspect ratio reaction-wells for confining the cell lysates extracted by lysing trapped single cells via electroporation. We demonstrated a highly efficient single-cell arraying (a cell capture efficiency of 96 ± 3%) by trapping diluted human prostate cancer cells (PC3 cells). On-chip single-cell analysis was performed by measuring the intracellular β-galactosidase (β-gal) activity after lysing the trapped single cells inside a tightly enclosed EdWA in the presence of a fluorogenic enzyme substrate. The PC3 cells showed large cell-to-cell variations in β-gal activity although they were cultured under the same conditions in a culture dish. This simple and effective system has great potential for high throughput single-cell analysis of rare cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soo Hyeon Kim
- Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Japan.
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6
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Mogi K, Shirataki C, Kihara K, Kuwahara H, Hongoh Y, Yamamoto T. Trapping and isolation of single prokaryotic cells in a micro-chamber array using dielectrophoresis. RSC Adv 2016. [DOI: 10.1039/c6ra21229h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The vast majority of prokaryotic species are difficult or impossible to culture in laboratories, which makes it difficult to study these organisms using conventional biochemical techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- K. Mogi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Tokyo Institute of Technology
- Tokyo 152-8552
- Japan
| | - C. Shirataki
- Department of Life Science and Technology
- Tokyo Institute of Technology
- Tokyo 152-8552
- Japan
| | - K. Kihara
- Department of Life Science and Technology
- Tokyo Institute of Technology
- Tokyo 152-8552
- Japan
| | - H. Kuwahara
- Department of Life Science and Technology
- Tokyo Institute of Technology
- Tokyo 152-8552
- Japan
| | - Y. Hongoh
- Department of Life Science and Technology
- Tokyo Institute of Technology
- Tokyo 152-8552
- Japan
| | - T. Yamamoto
- Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Tokyo Institute of Technology
- Tokyo 152-8552
- Japan
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7
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Quantifying Molecular-Level Cell Adhesion on Electroactive Conducting Polymers using Electrochemical-Single Cell Force Spectroscopy. Sci Rep 2015; 5:13334. [PMID: 26335299 PMCID: PMC4558606 DOI: 10.1038/srep13334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2015] [Accepted: 07/21/2015] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Single Cell Force Spectroscopy was combined with Electrochemical-AFM to quantify the adhesion between live single cells and conducting polymers whilst simultaneously applying a voltage to electrically switch the polymer from oxidized to reduced states. The cell-conducting polymer adhesion represents the non-specific interaction between cell surface glycocalyx molecules and polymer groups such as sulfonate and dodecylbenzene groups, which rearrange their orientation during electrical switching. Single cell adhesion significantly increases as the polymer is switched from an oxidized to fully reduced state, indicating stronger cell binding to sulfonate groups as opposed to hydrophobic groups. This increase in single cell adhesion is concomitant with an increase in surface hydrophilicity and uptake of cell media, driven by cation movement, into the polymer film during electrochemical reduction. Binding forces between the glycocalyx and polymer surface are indicative of molecular-level interactions and during electrical stimulation there is a decrease in both the binding force and stiffness of the adhesive bonds. The study provides insight into the effects of electrochemical switching on cell adhesion at the cell-conducting polymer interface and is more broadly applicable to elucidating the binding of cell adhesion molecules in the presence of electrical fields and directly at electrode interfaces.
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8
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Tan X, Zhao S, Lei Q, Lu X, He G, Ostrikov K. Single-cell-precision microplasma-induced cancer cell apoptosis. PLoS One 2014; 9:e101299. [PMID: 24971517 PMCID: PMC4074162 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0101299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2013] [Accepted: 06/05/2014] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The issue of single-cell control has recently attracted enormous interest. However, in spite of the presently achievable intracellular-level physiological probing through bio-photonics, nano-probe-based, and some other techniques, the issue of inducing selective, single-cell-precision apoptosis, without affecting neighbouring cells remains essentially open. Here we resolve this issue and report on the effective single-cell-precision cancer cell treatment using the reactive chemistry of the localized corona-type plasma discharge around a needle-like electrode with the spot size ∼1 µm. When the electrode is positioned with the micrometer precision against a selected cell, a focused and highly-localized micro-plasma discharge induces apoptosis in the selected individual HepG2 and HeLa cancer cells only, without affecting any surrounding cells, even in small cell clusters. This is confirmed by the real-time monitoring of the morphological and structural changes at the cellular and cell nucleus levels after the plasma exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Tan
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Engineering and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, P. R. China
| | - Shasha Zhao
- The Genetic Engineering International Cooperation Base of Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Chinese Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science & Technology (HUST), Wuhan, P. R. China
| | - Qian Lei
- The Genetic Engineering International Cooperation Base of Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Chinese Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science & Technology (HUST), Wuhan, P. R. China
| | - Xinpei Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Engineering and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, P. R. China
- * E-mail:
| | - Guangyuan He
- The Genetic Engineering International Cooperation Base of Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Chinese Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science & Technology (HUST), Wuhan, P. R. China
| | - Kostya Ostrikov
- CSIRO Materials Science & Engineering, Lindfield, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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9
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Materials and surface engineering to control bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation: A review of recent advances. Front Chem Sci Eng 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s11705-014-1412-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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10
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Zhang W, Kai K, Ueno NT, Qin L. A Brief Review of the Biophysical Hallmarks of Metastatic Cancer Cells. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 1:59-66. [PMID: 25309822 DOI: 10.1166/ch.2013.1010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
A hallmark of metastatic cancer cells is their invasion through the basal membrane and endothelial layer, which requires a highly elastic cytoskeleton and nucleus. Therefore, cellular deformability can serve as a universal biophysical marker for detecting a tumor's propensity for invasion, migration, and metastasis. In this review, we define the importance of the biophysical features of cancer cells in tumor metastasis and summarize the state-of-the-art technology for the study of cell biomechanics. This review will serve as a brief introduction to the interdisciplinary character of cancer cell biophysics for cancer biologists, physicists, and engineers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weijia Zhang
- Department of Nanomedicine, The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA ; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Kazuharu Kai
- Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and Clinic, Breast Cancer Translational Research Laboratory, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Naoto T Ueno
- Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and Clinic, Breast Cancer Translational Research Laboratory, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Lidong Qin
- Department of Nanomedicine, The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA ; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
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Liu L, Zhao L, Yang J, Wan X, Hu N, Yeh LH, Joo SW, Qian S. Low-Voltage Pulsed Electric Field Sterilization on a Microfluidic Chip. ELECTROANAL 2013. [DOI: 10.1002/elan.201200648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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12
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Iino R, Hayama K, Amezawa H, Sakakihara S, Kim SH, Matsumono Y, Nishino K, Yamaguchi A, Noji H. A single-cell drug efflux assay in bacteria by using a directly accessible femtoliter droplet array. LAB ON A CHIP 2012; 12:3923-9. [PMID: 22814576 DOI: 10.1039/c2lc40394c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Active efflux of drugs, such as antibiotics, from a cell is one of the major mechanisms that cause multi-drug resistance in bacteria. Here we report a method to assess drug efflux activity in individual Escherichia coli cells enclosed and isolated in a directly accessible femtoliter droplet array with a fluorogenic compound. The inhibitory effect of a chemical compound on an exogenously expressed efflux pump system from pathogenic bacteria was easily detected at the single-cell level. We also present a proof-of-principle experiment to screen for the gene encoding a drug efflux pump by collecting individual droplets containing single cells in which the drug efflux activity was restored after introduction of the exogenous gene from pathogenic bacteria. Our approach will be a useful tool to screen novel pump inhibitors and efflux pump genes, and to overcome infectious diseases caused by multi-drug-resistant bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryota Iino
- Department of Applied Chemistry, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
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Rapid identification and drug susceptibility screening of ESAT-6 secreting Mycobacteria by a NanoELIwell assay. Sci Rep 2012; 2:635. [PMID: 22957139 PMCID: PMC3434393 DOI: 10.1038/srep00635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2012] [Accepted: 08/10/2012] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
To meet the global needs of tuberculosis (TB) control, a nanoELIwell device was developed as a multifunctional assay for TB diagnosis and drug susceptibility testing. The device integrates on-chip culturing of mycobacteria, immunoassay, and high-resolution fluorescent imaging. Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium kansasii were used as models of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to evaluate device integrity by using antigens, Ag85 and ESAT-6, as biomarkers. As a result, the nanoELIwell device detected antigens released from a single bacterium within 24–48-hour culture. Antimycobacterial drug-treated M. smegmatis showed significant decreased in Ag85 antigen production when treated with ethambutol and no change in antigen production when treated with rifampin, demonstrating drug susceptibility and resistance, respectively. The nanoELIwell assay also distinguished the ESAT-6-secreting M. kansasii from the non-ESAT-6-secreting M. simiae. The combination of microwell technology and ELISA assay holds potential to the development of a rapid, sensitive, and specific diagnostics and susceptibility testing of TB.
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Yoshizawa S. Micro and nanotechnological tools for study of RNA. Biochimie 2012; 94:1588-94. [PMID: 22484393 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2012.03.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2012] [Accepted: 03/22/2012] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Micro and nanotechnologies have originally contributed to engineering, especially in electronics. These technologies enable fabrication and assembly of materials at micrometer and nanometer scales and the manipulation of nano-objects. The power of these technologies has now been exploited in analyzes of biologically relevant molecules. In this review, the use of micro and nanotechnological tools in RNA research is described.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satoko Yoshizawa
- Centre de Génétique Moléculaire UPR 3404, CNRS, Université Paris-Sud, FRC3115 1 Ave de la Terrasse, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
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