Single-Cell Manipulation

The manipulation and analysis of single cells have enabled various applications in the field of medical and life sciences. Microfluidic single-cell manipulation uses designed flows in a microchannel network and plays an important role in precise and high-throughput manipulation of single cells. Unlike previous reviews and books covering a wide range of technologies, this chapter focuses on the basic mechanisms of hydrodynamic manipulation based on lumped modeling with circuit elements. First, a hydraulic circuit for cell manipulation is expressed as a fluidic resistance network by Hagen–Poiseuille’s law. Designing the ratio of flow rates between the cell trap and the bypass channels demonstrates single-cell trapping, which is extended to co-culture of single cells. Other forms of hydrodynamic manipulation, such as cell deforming, sorting, and separating, are highlighted. Several techniques combining hydrodynamic manipulation with other optical, electric, magnetic, and acoustic methods are developed to improve functionality. These cell manipulation examples are also explained in view of hydrodynamic modeling. Microchannels for hydrodynamic manipulation are designed independently of the other methods. By modeling the flow, the average flow can be predicted, and a microchannel network for hydrodynamic cell manipulation can be easily designed.