Deterministic Cell Pairing with Simultaneous Microfluidic Merging and Sorting of Droplets.

ABSTRACT: Cell-cell interactions drive immune activation, tissue repair, and stem cell fate, yet there are few methods that can create large numbers of pre-defined cell pairs to study cell crosstalk. Droplet microfluidics allows high-throughput compartmentalization of multiple cells, but random loading results in <1% of droplets containing the desired cell combinations. Here, we present a microfluidic device capable of deterministically isolating specific cell pairs using droplet merging and sorting ('merge-sorting'). The system detects target combinations using fluorescence and triggers simultaneous electrocoalescence and dielectrophoretic sorting. Using fluorescent dye-loaded droplets, we achieved 98.6% purity of merged and sorted droplets. In experiments using cells stained with three distinct dy

SUBMITTER: Joslin KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12236795 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature