Abstract

Pipette-Integrated Droplet-Based Microfluidic Platforms for Cell-Based Drug Assays

Siva A Vanapalli, Associate Professor, Texas Tech University

Multiwell plates and pipetting systems have revolutionized modern biological and cell-based analysis. However, these approaches are difficult to scale down to manipulate nanoliter volumes and pursue studies at single cell resolution. In this talk, I will discuss a new microfluidic technology that delivers the functionality of multiwell plates and pipette systems at the nanoliter-scale. Our approach involves creating two-dimensional arrays of hundreds of nanoliter droplets with capabilities of fine-gradation dilutions and efficient reagent exchange and washing. Additionally, I will discuss how pipette-based liquid handling systems can be integrated in a facile manner into our approach. I will highlight the power of this integrated microfluidic technology with demonstrative applications ranging from single cell analysis of drug uptake kinetics to high-resolution dose-response assays of cancer drugs. The technology demonstrated here is a promising candidate for highly parallelized biological assays, using hundreds of nanoliter sample volumes.