# A Microfluidic Device for Temporal Live-Cell Analysis of Intracellular Biomolecules

> **NIH NIH R21** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $188,141

## Abstract

Project Summary
To discover the fundamental mechanisms that govern how cells mature and differentiate, researchers need to
monitor a cell's gene expression profile and measure changes over time without destroying or disrupting its
growth. No current tool can meet this technological challenge with a throughput high enough to enable systems
biology analyses. This project proposes to establish the feasibility of using localized electroporation for
temporal sampling in individual living cells. Specifically, the nanofountain probe electroporation system will be
used to identify localized molecular-transport mechanisms, employed in cell sampling, by monitoring the loss of
fluorescence intensity in a tdTomato-expressing cell line. These experimental data will be used to validate
model parameters in a multi-physics framework based on pore-evolution models. Single-cell RNA sequencing
will be used to investigate any off-target effects due to repeated sampling in localized electroporated, bulk
electroporated, and unelectroporated (control) cells. The ability to measure gene expression over time in single
cells as they are maturing would be a transformative advance for cell biology, bioengineering, and
biopharmaceutics.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10018051
- **Project number:** 5R21GM132709-02
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Horacio Dante Dante Espinosa
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $188,141
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-15 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10018051

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10018051, A Microfluidic Device for Temporal Live-Cell Analysis of Intracellular Biomolecules (5R21GM132709-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10018051. Licensed CC0.

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