Microfluidic devices for mechanical characterisation of single cells in suspension

This Letter provides an overview of microfluidic technologies for single-cell mechanical characterisation. In particular, the most recent literature is discussed to summarise the working principles and development trend of the state-of-the-art microfluidic devices for mechanical characterisation of biological cells in suspension. The techniques are classified into constriction channel, fluid stress, optical stretcher, electro-deformation, electroporation and microfluidic pipette aspiration, according to the mechanism of mechanical stimuli. The principles are explained along with representative examples demonstrating their applications. The research highlighted in this letter has great potential in realising high-throughput single-cell mechanical characterisation.