A Microraft (Isoraft) is an arrays of microwells for

cell sorting Cell sorting is the process through which a particular cell type is separated from others contained in a sample on the basis of its physical or biological properties, such as size, morphological parameters, viability and both extracellular and intra ...

, isolating cells, analyzing

cells Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life * Cellphone, a phone connected to a cellular network * Clandestine cell, a penetration-resistant form of a secret or outlawed organization * Electrochemical cell, a d ...

over time, and generating clonal populations. This platform provides

biomedical scientist A biomedical scientist is a scientist trained in biology, particularly in the context of medical laboratory sciences or laboratory medicine. These scientists work to gain knowledge on the main principles of how the human body works and to find new ...

s with access to diverse

cell culture Cell culture or tissue culture is the process by which cell (biology), cells are grown under controlled conditions, generally outside of their natural environment. After cells of interest have been Cell isolation, isolated from living tissue, ...

surfaces with integrated, easy-to-use cell separating capabilities at low cost.

Platform

The microrafts have bases composed of detachable

concave Concave or concavity may refer to: Science and technology * Concave lens * Concave mirror Mathematics * Concave function, the negative of a convex function * Concave polygon A simple polygon that is not convex is called concave, non-convex or ...

elements fabricated by a

dip-coating Dip coating is an industrial coating process which is used, for example, to manufacture bulk products such as coated fabrics and condoms and specialised coatings for example in the biomedical field. Dip coating is also commonly used in academic ...

process using a

polydimethylsiloxane Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), also known as dimethylpolysiloxane or dimethicone, is a silicone polymer with a wide variety of uses, from cosmetics to industrial lubrication and passive daytime radiative cooling. PDMS is particularly known for its ...

mold as the template and the array substrate. This manufacturing approach allows the microrafts to possess low

autofluorescence Autofluorescence is the natural fluorescence of biological structures such as mitochondria and lysosomes, in contrast to fluorescence originating from artificially added fluorescent markers (fluorophores). The most commonly observed autofluoresc ...

and can therefore be utilized for fluorescence-based identification of cells. Cells plated on the microarray settle and attach at the center of the wells due to the microrafts’ concavity. Individual microrafts are dislodged using a needle inserted through the compliant

polymer A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...

substrate. The hard polymer material of the microrafts protect the cells from damage by the needle. Cell analysis and isolation can be carried out using a standard

inverted microscope An inverted microscope is a microscope with its light source and condenser on the top, above the stage pointing down, while the objectives and turret are below the stage pointing up. It was invented in 1850 by J. Lawrence Smith, a faculty membe ...

. Released cells/microrafts can be collected, cultured and clonally expanded.

Utility

Using this system, extremely high single-cell cloning rates of greater than 95% have been achieved. This system is ideal for both adherent and non-adherent cell types.

References

{{reflist Cells Cell culture Biotechnology