In-situ microfabrication of permeation membrane with photo-crosslinkable resin for isolation and culture of individual cells

We developed a novel technique to investigate individual properties of microorganisms on a chip using in-situ microfabrication of permeation membrane with photo-crosslinkable resin. A cage having vertical permeation membrane was fabricated in situ in the microchannel by providing the photo-crosslinkable resin and curing it in situ by the focused UV irradiation. An arbitrary selected individual cell was transported inside the cage by the newly developed laser micromanipulation method employing a microtool made by the local thermal gelation. The cage was freely and properly constructed at arbitrary position in the microchannel. Since the cage is made of the permeable membrane, we can culture the cells in it and observe their chemical reactions microscopically by providing growth media or reagents. In experiment, we confirmed repeatability of on-demand analysis of isolated individual yeast cells.