Automatic cell cutting and nucleus detection

We have developed an automated cell cutting and its nucleus detection technique for automated nucleus transplantation. Animal cells softened by cytochalasin treatment were injected into a microfluidic chip. The microfluidic chip contained 2 orthogonal channels: 1 microchannel was wide, was used to transport cells, and to generate the cutting flow; the other microchannel was thin and used for aspiration, fixing, and stretching of the cell. The injected cell was aspirated and stretched thin into the thin microchannel. Simultaneously, the volume of the cell before and after aspiration was calculated; this volume was used to calculate the fluid flow required to aspirate half the volume of the cell into the thin microchannel. Then, we applied a high-speed flow in the orthogonal microchannel to bisect the cell. Finally, we observed the nucleus of the cut cells to detect the non-nucleus cell. This paper reports the cutting and the detection process and the system, and result of the experiment.