Cell lysis and protein extraction in a microfluidic device with detection by a fluorogenic enzyme assay

A critical requirement for achieving a micro total analytical system for the analysis of cells and their constituent proteins is to integrate the lysis and fractionation steps on-chip. Here, an experimental microfluidic system integrating the lysis of bacterial cells and the extraction of a large intraceflular enzyme, beta-galactosidase, is demonstrated. The beta-galactosidase is detected and quantified using a fluorogenic enzyme assay and a numerical model. While the focus is on the lysis of typical Gram-negative bacterial cells (E. coli), the techniques described here could, in principle, be applied to a variety of different cell types.