Miniaturized octupole cytometry for cell type independent trapping and analysis

Microflow cytometry, including robust alignment, separation, and trapping of living cells, is on the verge of commercialization. Yet, the necessary equipment is frequently not applicable to certain biological questions as the products have been specifically developed for particular cell types. We present a versatile cell handling technology based on single miniaturized octupoles that enables the physical manipulation of a broad variety of different cell types via controlled negative dielectrophoresis force fields. The octupole technology allows contactless and time-resolved cell analysis in physicochemical controlled microenvironments. Contactless cell manipulation and trapping with the octupole technology were shown to be independent of cell size and morphology. This was demonstrated with nine different cell types of technical and medical relevance, ranging from motile bacteria over yeast and small platelets (thrombocytes) up to large cancer cells. We also demonstrate applications of octupole cytometry for controlled analyses of mechanoelastic properties of single cells, contactless cultivation and perfusion for perturbation studies, as well as studying the interaction of different cell types in physical proximity. These examples prove the miniaturized octupole format as a versatile, noninvasive, and robust tool for microfluidic single cell cytometry that complements existing hydrodynamic, optical, and acoustic technologies.