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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 50: Biotechnology and bioengineering
BP 50.1: Talk
Thursday, March 19, 2015, 17:30–17:45, H 1058
Real-time deformability cytometry: On-the-fly mechanical phenotyping for label-free cell functional assays — •Oliver Otto1, Philipp Rosendahl1, Alexander Mietke1,2, Stefan Golfier1, Angela Jacobi1, Christoph Herold1, Daniel Klaue1, Nicole Töpfner1, Salvatore Girardo1, Elisabeth Fischer-Friedrich2, and Jochen Guck1,3 — 1Biotechnology Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany — 2Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany — 3Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
The mechanical properties of cells are considered as a label-free, inherent marker of biological function in health and disease. Wide-spread utilization has so far been impeded by the lack of a convenient measurement technique with sufficient throughput, sensitive to cytoskeletal changes. Here, we introduce real-time deformability cytometry (RT-DC) for continuous mechanical single-cell characterization with analysis rates in excess of 100 cells/s. Cells are driven through a microfluidic channel leading to deformations due to hydrodynamic stresses only, described by an analytical hydrodynamic model. Experiments with RT-DC demonstrate sensitivity to cytoskeletal alterations and specificity for different cell cycle phases. RT-DC can also track the differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells into different lineages and identify cell types in whole blood by their mechanical properties. In summary, RT-DC enables continuous mechanical phenotyping of heterogeneous cell populations with a throughput comparable to standard flow cytometry.