Time-lapse measurement of single-cell response to nanomaterial : a microfluidic approach

This work presents the successful application of a single-cell microfluidic platform for high-throughput, real-time screening of nanoparticle-cell interactions. Taking vaccine delivery as a proof-of-concept application, ovalbumin-conjugated gold nanorods were produced and controllably delivered to primary dendritic cells within the device. Time-lapse imaging enabled monitoring of hundreds of single-cells during exposure to a range of concentrations of nanoparticle conjugates and simultaneous quantification of specific cellular functions. This integrated system provides throughput and statistical data comparable to that obtained with flow cytometry but also offers a novel approach to determine the dynamics of nanoparticle-cell interactions and nanoparticle-mediated antigen delivery with single-cell resolution