Table 1.

Methods employed in single cell biology

Technique	Instrumentation for detection	Method of detection	Applications	Biomedical applications
Microfluidics  (a) Droplet-based Microfluidics  (b) Digital microfluidics  (c) Quantum dots	Special microfluidic device coupled with optical device  (a) Dielectrophoresis (DEP)  (b) Fluorescence-activated droplet sorting (FADS)	Based on the property of encapsulated cells Using probes (antibodies) for secreted molecules	High throughput screening Proteomic/transcriptomic/genomic analyses of single cells	Biomarker detection Drug screening Disease diagnosis
Microrafts	Microwell plates with magnetic nanoparticles	Conventional microscopy/flowcytometry	Functional studies of single cells Proteomic/transcriptomic/genomic analyses of single cells
Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS)	Fluorescence activated-cell sorter (FACS machine)	Using probes  (a) Antibodies  (b) Aptamers  (c) Molecular beacons  (d) Peptide nucleic acids  (e) Targeting CPPs	Detection of heterogenic populations Characterization of single cells Functional studies of single cells	Diagnosis Screening Stem cell therapy

The different techniques, their features, and applications are summarized in the table