ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cells are the basic units of all life activities. In order to grasp the law of life process, it is essential to explore intercellular interactions and cell behaviors. Most current biological assays in large cell populations ignore the effects of cell heterogeneity and lose important temporal data in the process of averaging cellular responses. High-throughput single-cell capture and arrangement are of great significance to the research on cell biology. However, to date, there has no systematic study and description of the methods for cell capturing and alignment in vitro . OBJECTIVE: To summarize the methods of microfluidics technology, surface topographical technology and various traps based on mechanics, magnetics, and electrophoretic sorting to spatially collect single cells so as to discuss the feasibility and the latest progress of cell shape control and cell alignment. METHODS: The authors performed a data retrieval of PubMed and Bailianyun databases to search the articles (1995-2017) addressing the single cell capture and alignment in vitro and reviewed the literatures systematically. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: A total 241 articles were retrieved, and 35 articles were finally involved in the analysis according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. After summarizing and analyzing, the results indicated that microfluidics, micro-contact printing, micro-well arrays, micro-pore membrane, electrical stimulation and magnetic deflection are commonly used in cell capture and functional assay. With the development of micro-scale technologies and in-depth research of cell behavior, microfluidic technology and micro-contact printing technology have become a hot topic of research with certain improvement in the capture efficiency. In addition, some new materials are gradually developed and applied. Microfluidic technology has a leading advantage in cell capture rate, while the improved micro-contact printing technology mostly concerns subsequent cell spreading and alignment. Under the proper culture environment, precise cell capture and alignment are essential to guide cell spreading, fusion, and differentiation.