Abstract
This article reviews recent developments in microfluidic impedance flow cytometry for high-throughput electrical property characterization of single cells. Four major perspectives of microfluidic impedance flow cytometry for single-cell characterization are included in this review: (1) early developments of microfluidic impedance flow cytometry for single-cell electrical property characterization; (2) microfluidic impedance flow cytometry with enhanced sensitivity; (3) microfluidic impedance and optical flow cytometry for single-cell analysis and (4) integrated point of care system based on microfluidic impedance flow cytometry. We examine the advantages and limitations of each technique and discuss future research opportunities from the perspectives of both technical innovation and clinical applications.
Highlights
Single-cell electrical properties can be utilized as cellular biophysical markers to evaluate cellular status in a label-free manner [1,2]
Compared to the conventional coulter counters which rely on DC or low-frequency signal for cell size characterization [73,74,75,76], the multiple-frequency-based impedance data obtained from the microfluidic impedance flow cytometry enable the characterization of cellular sizes, membrane capacitance and cytoplasm resistance in a high-throughput manner [35,36]
We focus on the recent advances of the four perspectives of microfluidics-based flow cytometers for single-cell electrical property characterization: (1) early developments of microfluidic impedance flow cytometry for single-cell electrical property characterization; (2) microfluidic impedance flow cytometry with enhanced sensitivity; (3) microfluidic impedance and optical flow cytometry for single-cell analysis and (4) integrated point of care system based on microfluidic impedance flow cytometry
Summary
Single-cell electrical properties (e.g., membrane capacitance or cytoplasm resistance) can be utilized as cellular biophysical markers to evaluate cellular status in a label-free manner [1,2]. Compared to the conventional coulter counters which rely on DC or low-frequency signal for cell size characterization [73,74,75,76], the multiple-frequency-based impedance data obtained from the microfluidic impedance flow cytometry enable the characterization of cellular sizes, membrane capacitance and cytoplasm resistance in a high-throughput manner [35,36]. Impedance flow cytometry for single-cell electrical property characterization; (2) microfluidic impedance flow cytometry with enhanced sensitivity; (3) microfluidic impedance and optical flow cytometry for single-cell analysis and (4) integrated point of care system based on microfluidic impedance flow cytometry (see Table 1)
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