Abstract
Many efforts are currently underway to try and mimic the properties of single cells with the aim of designing chips that are as efficient as cells. However, cells are nature's nanotechnology engineering at the scale of atoms and molecules, and it might be better to envision a microchip that utilizes a single cell as an experimentation platform. A novel, so-called laboratory-in-a-cell concept has been described, where advantage is taken of micro- and nanotechnological tools to enable precise control of the biochemical cellular environment; these tools also offer the possibility to analyse the composition of single cells. Methods for single-cell handling and analysis are being developed and will be required for this concept to progress further.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Review
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Cell Culture Techniques / instrumentation*
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Cell Culture Techniques / methods
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Cell Culture Techniques / trends
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Cell Physiological Phenomena*
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Cells, Cultured
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Electrophoresis / instrumentation
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Electrophoresis / methods
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Electrophoresis / trends
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Equipment Design
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Flow Cytometry / instrumentation*
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Flow Cytometry / methods
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Flow Cytometry / trends
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Humans
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Microfluidics / instrumentation*
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Microfluidics / methods
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Microfluidics / trends
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Micromanipulation / instrumentation*
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Micromanipulation / methods
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Micromanipulation / trends
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Miniaturization / instrumentation
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Miniaturization / methods
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Nanotechnology / instrumentation*
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Nanotechnology / methods
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Nanotechnology / trends
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Patch-Clamp Techniques / instrumentation
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Patch-Clamp Techniques / methods
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Patch-Clamp Techniques / trends