A MULTI-PURPOSE MICROFLUIDIC PIPETTE FOR SINGLE-CELL ANALYSIS

We report a multi-purpose microfluidic pipette, with a recirculating liquid tip. This device, made in poly(dimethylsiloxane), enables contamination-free manipulation and chemical stimulation of selected single cells in cell collectives or tissue slices. The pipette is capable of carrying out a variety of complex fluid processing functionalities, such as mixing, multiplexing, or gradient generation. The concept is flexible and scalable as the geometry and the size of the recirculation zone is defined by pressure, channel number, and geometry. We have applied the pipette in a fluorescence uptake assay, electrophysiology studies and for chemical induction of membrane protrusion from biological cells.