A microfluidic chip for precise assembly of single particles and single particle assembly method

Abstract

The invention discloses a microfluidic chip for precise assembly of single particles and a single particle assembly method. The microfluidic chip structure includes a channel layer and a sealing layer. The channel layer structure includes two parallel and independent channels, which respectively contain a capture channel, a ring bypass, and an assembly chamber. The operation steps include: (1) capturing single particles (2) transferring the single particles to the assembly chamber by backflowing the solution (3) performing multiple captures and transfers to realize multi-cell assembly. Based on the principle of fluid mechanics, the chip can achieve efficient single-cell capture. Through the control of fluid flow direction, the assembly of single particles can be manipulated. After repeated capture and assembly, precise single-particle assembly can be realized. The invention can be applied to research and application fields such as single-cell RNA sequencing, single-cell co-culture, cell secreted protein detection, and single-cell interaction analysis.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention relates to a microfluidic chip for precisely assembling single particles, which can be applied to fields such as single-cell RNA sequencing, single-cell co-cultivation, detection of cell secreted proteins, single-cell interaction analysis, and the like. Background technique [0002] The assembly of single particles is of great significance for studying the properties and functions of particles. Taking single cells as an example, cells have strong heterogeneity. Traditional analysis based on population cells often conceals the heterogeneity between cells and obtains the average expression Information and, in many cases, individualized single-cell functions play an important role in physiology as well as disease. Microfluidic chip is called "lab-on-a-chip", which has the advantages of miniaturization, integration, high throughput, size and single particle matching, so it is especially suitable for the analysis of single particle. However, ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, the controllable assembly capabilities of existing microfluidic chip devices are limited

For example, microarrays or droplet microfluidic systems are limited by the Poisson distribution, resulting in most micropores or droplets not containing single particles, and only a few containing single particles, which is even less accurate. Control the number of cells assembled in microwells or droplets

Most other types of microfluidic devices, such as microfluidic chips based on hydrodynamic trapping principles, still cannot achieve true precise assembly

In addition, in recent years, some microfluidic chips that can be used for the assembly of multiple particles have emerged. One operation can only achieve the capture and assembly of one type of single particle, and it is difficult to capture two different types of single particles at the same time in a single operation. and assemble

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