We recently published a paper in Advanced Materials Interfaces to highlight the microfluidic innovations applied in the CellCity System for functional phenomics.

The article describes evorion’s technology in detail and outlines how our macro-to-micro interface allows researchers to encapsulate single cells, cell pairs, and cell clusters into hydrogel beads to perform long-term cell culture and analysis in a physiologically relevant 3D microenvironment. Using time-lapse microscopy, cell function and behavior can be tracked at single-cell resolution. Then, the time-lapse data can be coupled with various endpoint measurements – immunostaining, single-cell RNA FISH – taken on the same chip to gain an in-depth understanding of any complex cellular functions and mechanisms. Finally, the system is compatible with downstream analyses as cell-laden beads can be retrieved from the chip.

The article discusses a study where we cultured breast cancer cells (human mammary gland cells; MDA-MB-468, MDA-MB-231, and MCF7) and primary cells (human umbilical vein endothelial cells, HUVEC) to couple dynamic functional phenotypes (e.g., cell division, apoptosis) with RNA and protein expression at single-cell resolution.

Interesting? Read the full story here.