Preparation and characterization of single-cell micro-capsules

A series of experiments for the preparation of single-cell micro-capsules have been carried out, in which the conditions and size variations were explored on the basis of digital micro-injection of micro-fluidics. The results showed that when the inner diameter of the micro-nozzles and the pulse step of the jetted liquid is less than twice the minimum size of the cells, the preparation of single-cell micro-capsules can be accomplished. The resultant micro-capsules' average size increases linearly with the inner diameter of the micro-nozzles and thus can be controlled by changing the inner diameter of the nozzles. The single-cell micro-capsules of porcine oocytes prepared by a 200-μm micro-nozzle are uniform in size, whose average size is 203.5 μm with a standard deviation of 5.86 μm. The digital micro-injection of micro-fluidics to prepare single-cell micro-capsules has many potential applications in the fields of biochemical analysis and biological engineering.