Novel design for a microfluidic-based platform for yeast replicative lifespan (RLS) analysis

Microfluidic devices hold enormous potential for the development of cost-effective and faster alternatives to existing traditional methods across life science applications. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating a microfluidic device by means of photolithography comprising a single cell trap, a delay structure and a chamber defined by micropillars. This device is aimed to be used for biological applications such as replicative lifespan determination (RLS) of yeast cells, where single cell trapping, and cell counting are essential. The novelty of the present work lies on the integration of the above-mentioned microfluidic structures in a single device by means of the established method of photolithography by fine-tuning critical parameters needed to achieve the desired high aspect ratio (1:5) employing commercially available resins. The fine-tuning of the fabrication parameters in combination with appropriately selected resins allows for patterning reproducibly micron-sized features. The design of the proposed device ultimately aims at replacing the very cumbersome assays still commonly used today for RLS determination in budding yeast by a methodology that is drastically simpler and more time efficient.