RESUMO
Despite its tremendous high-throughput screening capabilities, widespread applications of droplet-based microfluidics are still limited by the poor availability of appropriate analytical assays. Here we report on a novel sensor method that exploits the osmosis-driven change in droplet size as a quantitative and label-free marker for reactions inside the droplets. We present an analysis of the underlying mechanism and apply the method for monitoring metabolic activity at a single-cell level.
Assuntos
Microfluídica/métodos , Nanocápsulas/química , Células Cultivadas , Cinética , Osmose , Tamanho da Partícula , Coloração e Rotulagem , Tensoativos/química , Leveduras/metabolismoRESUMO
Bundles of filamentous actin are dominant cytoskeletal structures, which play a crucial role in various cellular processes. As yet quantifying the fundamental interaction between two individual actin filaments forming the smallest possible bundle has not been realized. Applying holographic optical tweezers integrated with a microfluidic platform, we were able to measure the forces between two actin filaments during bundle formation. Quantitative analysis yields forces up to 0.2 pN depending on the concentration of bundling agents.
