Microfluidic Systems for Cell Pairing and Fusion

Cell fusion has become a routine laboratory technique for generating hybrids with diverse genetic and epigenetic properties, and has been used for many different applications. Here, we describe a microfluidics based cell pairing and fusion method that affords controllable formation of cell pairs and high efficiency fusion. The microfluidic device uses passive hydrodynamics and multistep cell loading procedure to immobilize and pair thousands of cells in a dense array of weir-based traps. Once paired, cells can be fused either using chemical or electrical fusion protocols, and provide twofold to tenfold improvement in fusion yields in comparison to commercial systems. The hybrids can be harvested from the device for culture and further studies.