A compartmentalised microchip platform with charged hydrogel to study protein diffusion for Single Cell Analysis

Within one tumor, cancer cells exist as different sub-populations due to the variations in expression of crucial bio-markers. The prevalence of even minor cell sub-populations can determine overall cancer progression and treatment response. Single-cell protein analysis is a way to identify these cell sub-populations; therefore we developed a microfluidic platform with ultrahigh-sensitivity for single-cell protein analysis. As the key step to develop such a platform, protein migration under the application of an electric field has to be understood. COMSOL multi-physics software is used as a tool to understand the protein migration in microfluidic channels, which contain ion-selective hydrogels as the separation matrix. The objective of this thesis work, is to minimize the protein losses to diffusion and to maximize the fluorescent signal in order to quantify the protein expression in single cells. The novelty of this work lies in the use of ion-selective hydrogels to eliminate the diffusional losses and separate the proteins based on their mass and charge. This thesis project has been performed thanks to an Erasmus fellowship at MCS Department of the University of Twente.