Microfluidic Removal of Cumulus Cells from Mammalian Zygotes

Micron-sized fluid channels have been used for biology-related procedures, such as single-cell manipulation (1 –3 ), cell deformation (4 ,5 ), cell assays (6 ), and subcellular molecule positioning (7 ). Owing to laminar fluid flow on this scale, small volumes of fluid can be precisely controlled (8 ,9 ). Microfluidic tools allow for the control and manipulation on the size scale of a single embryo (10 ). Precise microfluidic manipulation can be employed to perform multiple IVP-processing steps (11 –13 ).