Recent Advances in Automated Single-Cell Manipulation Platforms: Optical Tweezers, Microfluidics, Microrobots, and Micropipette/Microneedle Systems

Automated micromanipulation enables precise, repeatable interaction with single cells and subcellular structures. This review examines four platform archetypes defined by their dominant interaction mechanism: field-mediated optical tweezers, flow-mediated automated microfluidics, mobile microrobots, and fixed-probe micropipette/microneedle systems. Rather than treating them as equivalent robot classes, the review compares their working principles, sensing and control architectures, application fit, quantitative performance evidence, and biological trade-offs. Recent advances in closed-loop operation, intelligent perception, multimodal sensing, and hybrid workflows are analyzed, and a standardized set of reporting metrics is proposed to support objective comparison and translation.