Selective electrical lysis of single cell membranes by microfluidics

Biological fields ranging from cancer to stem cell research can benefit heavily from chemical cytometry on a single cell level. The dimensionality of the retrievable analytes content directly affects the impact that chemical cytometry can have on these fields. Consequently the number of different analytes that can be identified and their subcellular localization are of significant importance. We present an electrical lysis based approach to selectively lyse only the plasma membrane of a single cell. This method permits analysis of the dissolved cytoplasm and reduces contributions from the nucleus and membrane bound fractions of the cell analytes. A microfluidic device provides the enabling technological platform to perform the electrical lysis on a single cell while allowing a high degree of control over the cell's movement and location.