Abstract
Localized single cells can be lysed precisely and selectively using microbubbles optothermally generated by microsecond laser pulses. The shear stress from the microstreaming surrounding laser-induced microbubbles and direct contact with the surface of expanding bubbles cause the rupture of targeted cell membranes. High-resolution single-cell lysis is demonstrated: cells adjacent to targeted cells are not lysed. It is also shown that only a portion of the cell membrane can be punctured using this method. Both suspension and adherent cell types can be lysed in this system, and cell manipulation can be integrated for cell–cell interaction studies.
Highlights
Intracellular components provide crucial information for biomedical research
Single-cell lysis can be realized with microelectrodes in a serial process [2,4], with pre-patterned microfluidic chips in a parallel process [5,6,7], or with virtual microelectrodes induced by light [8,9]
Mechanical lysis can minimize the damage to proteins as compared to chemical lysis, thermal heating, and electrical lysis, the proteins can be captured in the cell debris, increasing the difficulty of extraction [2,10,13]
Summary
Intracellular components provide crucial information for biomedical research. the lysis of cells in bulk blends the intracellular components of all the cells, possibly resulting in misleading data due to averaging [1]. Laser lysis has been demonstrated on single cells using various microfluidic structures, like a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannel to confine the shock wave from laser-induced microbubble, or small holding structures to hold single cells under lysis in position [10,19,20] These microfluidic structures facilitate the focusing of hydrodynamic force on the cells for lysis, but it limits the locations on the device where cell lysis can occur. This paper reports on a more precise and flexible single-cell laser-lysis method, which does not need complex microfluidic structures, and can be combined with on-chip cell manipulation. This single-cell laser lysis system utilizes microsecond laser pulses to generate size-oscillating vapor microbubbles in a biocompatible medium via an optically-absorbent substrate. The integration of cell-patterning with a single-cell lysis system is an important feature for single-cell analysis
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
