Ultrasonication on a microfluidic chip to lyse single and multiple Pseudo‐nitzschia for marine biotoxin analysis

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.