This book delves into the recent developments in the microscale and microfluidic technologies that allow manipulation at the single and cell aggregate level. Expert authors review the dominant mechanisms that manipulate and sort biological structures, making this a state-of-the-art overview of conventional cell sorting techniques, the principles of microfluidics, and of microfluidic devices. All chapters highlight the benefits and drawbacks of each technique they discuss, which include magnetic, electrical, optical, acoustic, gravity/sedimentation, inertial, deformability, and aqueous two-phase systems as the dominant mechanisms utilized by microfluidic devices to handle biological samples. Each chapter explains the physics of the mechanism at work, and reviews common geometries and devices to help readers decide the type of style of device required for various applications. This book is appropriate for graduate-level biomedical engineering and analytical chemistry students, as well as engineers and scientists working in the biotechnology industry.

This book delves into the recent developments in the microscale and microfluidic technologies that allow manipulation at the single and cell aggregate level. Expert authors review the dominant mechanisms that manipulate and sort biological structures, making this a state-of-the-art overview of conventional cell sorting techniques, the principles of microfluidics, and of microfluidic devices. All chapters highlight the benefits and drawbacks of each technique they discuss, which include magnetic, electrical, optical, acoustic, gravity/sedimentation, inertial, deformability, and aqueous two-phase systems as the dominant mechanisms utilized by microfluidic devices to handle biological samples. Each chapter explains the physics of the mechanism at work, and reviews common geometries and devices to help readers decide the type of style of device required for various applications. This book is appropriate for graduate-level biomedical engineering and analytical chemistry students, as well as engineers and scientists working in the biotechnology industry.

Analysis of single cells allows a complete understanding of the heterogeneity that is present in cell behavior and function. Current single-cell analysis methods provide high-throughput information about labeled biomolecules within cells, but often cannot follow the dynamic processes occurring in signaling pathways. New microfluidic methods have separately allowed assays of fast timescale responses or creation of uniform environments to study cell behavior in a more quantitative manner. This book focuses on microfluidic hydrodynamic trapping techniques that aid in both fast timescale measurements and uniform environmental control in a single platform. Example applications for fast timescale analysis of pore-forming toxin insertion into membranes and assays of single-cell enzyme content will be presented. The book would be of interest to analytical chemists, engineers, and biologists developing platforms to study single-cell behavior. Also, biologists looking for tools to study cells of interest with statistical accuracy would find the book most helpful.