Abstract

Real-Time Viscoelastic Deformability Cytometry

Andrew J deMello, Principal Investigator, ETH Zurich

Differences in the mechanical properties of diseased cells and their benign counterparts means that mechanical phenotyping of cells can be used to report both cellular state and function. Accordingly, the ability to perform such measurements in a robust and high-throughput manner suggests potential utility in the detection and diagnosis of disease. Whilst different methods for cellular mechanophenotyping have been described, the ability to perform high-throughput single-cell deformability measurements on liquid or solid tissue biopsies remains an unmet challenge within clinical settings. To address this issue, we have developed viscoelastic deformability cytometry (vDC), a microfluidic method able to measure the mechanical properties of single cells at rates of up to 100,000 cells per second. Fluid viscoelasticity is used to both focus and deform cells without the need for sheath fluids. We have used vDC for cell phenotyping of both liquid and solid tumor biopsies, cytoskeletal drug analysis, and identifying malignant lymphocytes in peripheral blood samples. vDC offers new opportunities for high-throughput, label-free single cell analysis, with diverse applications in clinical diagnostics and personalized medicine.