Single-cell electro-mechanical cytometry

The complex structural and molecular features of a cell lead to a set of specific dielectric and mechanical properties which can serve as intrinsic phenotypic markers that enable different cell populations to be characterised and distinguished. We have developed a novel microfluidic technique that simultaneously measures both the electrical and mechanical properties of single cells at high speed. Cells flow along a microchannel and are deformed (elongated) to different degrees by the shear force created by a viscoelastic fluid and channel wall. The electrical impedance of each cell is measured along orthogonal axes to determine the shape change and thus the electrical deformability, along with cell dielectric properties. The system performance was evaluated by measuring the electro-mechanical properties of cells treated in different ways, including osmotic shock, glutaraldehyde cross-linking and cytoskeletal disruption with cytochalasin D and latrunculin B. This novel cytometer has a throughput of ~ 100 cells s − 1 is simple, and does not require sheath flow or rely on high speed optical imaging