Microfluidic particle-analysis systems

Abstract

The invention provides systems, including apparatus, methods, and kits, for the micro fluidic manipulation and/or detection of particles, such as cells and/or beads. The invention provides systems, including apparatus, methods, and kits, for the microfluidic manipulation and/or analysis of particles, such as cells, viruses, organelles, beads, and/or vesicles. The invention also provides micro fluidic mechanisms for carrying out these manipulations and analyses.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A microfluidic system for cell manipulation comprising:
 (a) an input mechanism for introducing a fluid sample containing particles, wherein the particles are beads or cells;   (b) a microfluidic passage in fluid communication with said input mechanism;   (c) an optical positioning mechanism for positioning said particles in said microfluidic passage while contained in said fluid sample;   (d) electrodes suitable for generating and/or regulating movement of the particles; and   (e) an optical detection system for analyzing the particles.   
     
     
         2 . The microfluidic system of  claim 1 , wherein the particles are cells. 
     
     
         3 . The microfluidic system of  claim 2 , wherein the cells are eukaryotic cells. 
     
     
         4 . The microfluidic system of  claim 1 , wherein the microfluidic passage has a minimum dimension of less than 200 micrometers. 
     
     
         5 . The microfluidic system of  claim 4 , wherein the microfluidic passage has a minimum dimension of less than 100 micrometers. 
     
     
         6 . The microfluidic system of  claim 5 , wherein the microfluidic passage has a minimum dimension of less than 50 micrometers. 
     
     
         7 . The microfluidic system of  claim 1 , wherein the optical positioning mechanism comprises optical tweezers. 
     
     
         8 . The microfluidic system of  claim 7 , wherein the optical tweezers comprise a movable light source for imparting a positioning force on the particles. 
     
     
         9 . The microfluidic device of  claim 1 , wherein the optical detection system comprises a light source. 
     
     
         10 . The microfluidic device of  claim 9 , wherein the light source is a laser. 
     
     
         11 . The microfluidic device of  claim 9 , wherein the light source is a light-emitting diode (LED). 
     
     
         12 . The microfluidic device of  claim 1 , wherein the optical detection system comprises a microscope. 
     
     
         13 . The microfluidic device of  claim 12 , wherein the microscope is an inverted fluorescence microscope. 
     
     
         14 . The microfluidic device of  claim 13 , wherein the microscope is configured to observe individual cells. 
     
     
         15 . The microfluidic device of  claim 1 , further comprising a retention mechanism for retaining a particle upon being positioned by said positioning mechanism. 
     
     
         16 . The microfluidic device of  claim 15 , wherein the retention mechanism is configured to retain a single cell. 
     
     
         17 . The microfluidic device of  claim 15 , wherein the retention mechanism comprises a physical barrier. 
     
     
         18 . The microfluidic device of  claim 16 , further comprising a release mechanism for releasing the cell from said retention mechanism. 
     
     
         19 . The microfluidic device of  claim 18 , wherein the release mechanism is for rendering ineffective the retention mechanism by lysing said cell to release intracellular components. 
     
     
         20 . The microfluidic device of  claim 1 , further comprising a treatment mechanism for exposing the particles to a reagent.