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Ultrasonication on a microfluidic chip to lyse single and multiple Pseudo‐nitzschia for marine biotoxin analysis
Author(s) -
Wu Chunsheng,
Lillehoj Peter B.,
Sabet Leyla,
Wang Ping,
Ho ChihMing
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
biotechnology journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.144
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1860-7314
pISSN - 1860-6768
DOI - 10.1002/biot.201000224
Subject(s) - lysis , sonication , microfluidics , intracellular , algae , single cell analysis , cell , biology , biological system , chemistry , computational biology , nanotechnology , microbiology and biotechnology , chromatography , biochemistry , materials science , ecology
Abstract We present a microfluidic platform, which provides a simple and efficient means for handling and processing Pseudo‐nitzschia , a neurotoxin‐producing marine algae. Currently, analyzing the production of such toxins is complicated by multiple environmental factors and high variability among individual Pseudo‐nitzschia species. To address this issue, we developed a device that can precisely trap single and multiple cells for subsequent lysis to extract relevant intracellular molecules. Our results show a cell trapping efficiency of up to 96%, which is achieved by hydrodynamic flow focusing. Additionally, complete cell lysis via ultrasonication can be accomplished within a few seconds. This platform can be applied to other algae and non‐algae cell types with minimal modification, thus providing a valuable tool for studying biological intracellular mechanisms at the single and multi‐cell level.