MIT and Harvard researchers have developed a novel way to measure the “instantaneous” growth rate of a single cell. The methodology builds on work previously published by team lead Scott Manalis using a suspended microchannel resonator (SMR), combining that device with picoliter-scale microfluidic control. In essence, as the cells pass through small fluid-filled channels, changes in vibrational frequency are recorded as they correlate with cell mass. By applying picoliter-scale microfluidic control, the cells pass repeatedly through the channel allowing multiple measurements of the their mass per cell cycle.
From the press release:
The new system represents a significant advance over any existing cell measurement technique, says Fred Cross, a Rockefeller University professor who studies the yeast cell cycle. “Since it directly measures biomass (at least net biomass with density greater than water) by the truly remarkable expedient of effectively directly placing a single cell on a scale, it is not troubled by ambiguities and inaccuracies inevitably associated with previous, more indirect measurements,” Cross says.
Press release: Weighing the cell…
Article in Nature Methods: Using buoyant mass to measure the growth of single cells…