Metabolism of a single cell, even
within the same organization,
differs from other cells by orders of magnitude. Single-cell analysis
provides key information for early diagnosis of cancer as well as
drug screening. Any slight change in the microenvironment may affect
the state of a single cell. Timely and effective cell monitoring is
conducive to better understand the behavior of single cells. The immediate
response of a single cell described in this study is a liquid transfer-based
approach for real-time electrochemical detection. The cell was in situ stimulated by continuous flow with glucose, and
lactate secreted from the cell would diffuse into the microflow. The
microflow was aspirated into the detection channel where lactate was
then decomposed by coupled enzyme reactions and detected by an electrode.
This work provides a novel approach for detecting lactate response
from a single cell by noninvasive measurements, and the position resolution
of the microfluidic probe reaches the level of a single cell and permits
individual heterogeneity in cells to be explored in the diagnosis
and treatment of cancer as well as in many other situations.