Single Cell Receptor Analysis Aided by a Centrifugal Microfluidic Device for Immune Cells Profiling

Abstract Single cell analysis has been the main focus of studies among scientists in recent decades for its outstanding contribution to medical treatment. An alternative method has been developed using a centrifugal microfluidic device to trap single cells, conduct immunostaining, and measure the cell surface receptor fluorescence intensity. The ratio of the fluorescence intensity can be used to profile the cell differentiation and the archived images can be useful in further analysis of the obtained data points. This could provide information on the morphological condition and receptor protein distribution on the surfaceome of the cells. To demonstrate the utility of the device, THP-1 and Jurkat Cells were tested and profiled with CD3, CD13, and CD31 markers. The results show that the device has performance similar to Fluorescence-activated cell sorting method (FACS) using relatively small sample volume and low cell suspension concentration. The utility of this device can be proven in identifying new surface markers and insight into basic biology.