Abstract
In this research, a finite element study on a nanoneedle-microfluidic system for single cell temperature measurement is presented. The nanoneedle design and electrical and mechanical characterization are analyzed, in which tungsten is used as the sensing material. A rectangular shaped sensor with a gap of 10.8 µm showed to give the same current density distribution within the nanoneedle, and a 90 nm2 cross-sectional area showed to cause minimum damage to the cell. Furthermore, the current showed to have a positive temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) with an increase in the temperature, and the nanoneedle showed to be able to resist ramp force up to 22.5 μN before failure. Electrical measurement on yeast cell showed that the nanoneedle was independent of the cell conductivity. The nanoneedle proved to be able to measure temperature with a current difference of 50 nA and a resolution of 0.02 °C in 10 ms. A Y-shaped microchannel was proposed and the microchannel cross-sectional area was optimized to be 63 μm2 and a flow rate of 24.6 pL/min allowed successful cell penetration causing minimal damage to the cell.
Highlights
Single cell analysis has become an important field of research in which cell properties are studied for an improved understanding of cellular processes
Another interesting idea was the incorporation of a microfluidic system with a resonant thermal sensor that measured heat generation in living cells, the application diversity was limited to a certain type of cells, i.e., brown fat cell (BFC) [22]
The results presented show that the nanoneedle can react to temperature in a very fast time with high sensitivity, which is very important in single cell temperature measurements
Summary
Single cell analysis has become an important field of research in which cell properties are studied for an improved understanding of cellular processes. A multi-walled carbon nanotube was suggested as a temperature detector for biological cells [20], as was photo acoustic microscopy (PAM), which measured the ultrasound signals induced by light absorption [21] Another interesting idea was the incorporation of a microfluidic system with a resonant thermal sensor that measured heat generation in living cells, the application diversity was limited to a certain type of cells, i.e., brown fat cell (BFC) [22]. These non-luminescent sensors open the door for new fields of single cell thermal property studies which have the potential to produce highly sensitive measurements accurately. The integration of the nanoneedle to a microfluidic channel required a study on the cell flow rate which was influenced by the microfluidic channel cross-sectional area and the fluid velocity
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