Capillary-Mediated Single-Cell Dispenser

Anal Chem. 2021 Aug 10;93(31):10750-10755. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c01879. Epub 2021 Jul 28.

Abstract

Single-cell manipulation, sorting, and dispensing into multiwell plates is useful for single-cell multiomics studies. Here, we develop a single-cell dispenser inspired by electrohydrodynamic jet printing that achieves accurate droplet generation and single-cell sorting and dispensing using fused silica capillary tubing as both the optical detection window and nozzle for droplet dispensing. Parameters that affect droplet dispensing performance-capillary inner and outer diameter, flow rate, applied voltage, and solution properties-were optimized systematically with COMSOL simulations and experimentation. Small (5-10 nL) droplets were obtained by using 100-μm inner diameter and 160-μm outer diameter capillary tubing and allowed efficient encapsulation and dispensing of single cells. We demonstrate an application of this easy-to-assemble single-cell dispenser by sorting and dispensing cells into multiwell plates for single-cell PCR analysis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Cell Separation
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Printing, Three-Dimensional
  • Silicon Dioxide*
  • Single-Cell Analysis*

Substances

  • Silicon Dioxide