Abstract_Dauphinot_Leiden 2010

Analysis of all the genes that are expressed in a single cell at a given time and under given physiological or pathological conditions, i.e. of a cell’s transcriptome, constitutes a major challenge in understanding the complexity of living organisms. With the development of DNA microarrays, gene profiling is now well established for samples that contain at least 100 000 cells. However, assays remain extremely difficult to carry out for single cells. In this context, microfluidic lab-on-a-chips seem a most promising tool for single cell assays as they allow reactions to be performed at the scale of the cell [1].