Fig. 1.

Schematic of device and operations. (a) The user simply pipettes the sample of interest into the inlet reservoir (left) and gravity drives the flow, enabling the device to operate without any external pressure actuators. Cells are automatically driven to the micropipette constrictions (inset). (b) After sample loading, the multi-step serial cell deformation experiments are performed automatically with no manual input required. 5 main steps are performed in an automated manner: (i) multiple cells flow through the channels and into the constriction region, (ii) cell 1 enters the constriction and clogs the flow as it undergoes deformation under a fixed pressure gradient, (iii) cell 1 fully transits across the barrier and cell 2 subsequently clogs the flow, enabling (iv) cell 1 to relax towards equilibrium at a fixed position, (v) cell 2 fully transits across the barrier and cell 1 clogs the flow at the next constriction, allowing cell 2 to relax at a fixed position while cell 1 undergoes a secondary deformation. The width of the larger channel region is 15 μm, the width of the smaller channel (constriction) region is 3.3 μm, and two different lengths are incorporated at the constrictions (10 μm and 60 μm), as shown in Fig. 1a inset. The height of the channels is a constant 10 μm.