Lab-on-a-chip to study single cells

Scientists at EPFL have developed a new lab-on-a-chip technique to analyze single cells from entire population. The new method, which uses beads and microfluidics can change the way we study mixed populations of cells, such as those of tumors. Individual cells in a population, e.g. a tumor, can vary greatly in terms of biochemistry and function. In order to fully understand and address this variability, it is necessary to profile the properties of each individual cell, such as the interactions between its DNA, RNA and proteins. This has always been a challenge due to the technical and physical limitations associated with the fragility and small size of cells, as well as the large variety yet low amount of biomolecules they contain. EPFL scientists have now combined, for the first time, affinity beads with microfluidics to produce an integrated, highly sensitive method for studying single cells that could be soon used in clinical diagnostics. The pioneering work is published in the journal Small .