Cell lysis is an essential step for intracellular analysis. Among many chemical and physical methods, mechanical means of cell lysis have recently been in spotlight due to its efficiency. In this study, we introduce a novel microfluidic platform for c...
Cell lysis is an essential step for intracellular analysis. Among many chemical and physical methods, mechanical means of cell lysis have recently been in spotlight due to its efficiency. In this study, we introduce a novel microfluidic platform for cell lysis consisting of an in-situ patterned synthesized array of ZnO nanowires. Nanowires were grown in the microchannel by seed-mediated hydrothermal reaction under low-temperature, which allows extremely convenient route for the patterned synthesis and direct integration of ZnO nanowires within a microfluidic channel. Our preliminary results in testing nanowires for cell lysis have revealed a good lysis performance, showing instantaneous staining of intracellular structures due to cell rupture and high protein levels on the resultant cell lysate. We expect that this novel method will be utilized in easy and cost-effective fabrication of microfluidic cell analysis device with less denaturing of intracellular molecules.