Design, Manufacturing and testing of "living" cellular microfluidic sensors

A single cell trapped inside a hair-thin glass fibre will act as a living sensor, changing its shape in response to temperature, acidity, electric fields, or drugs. Cells are exquisitely sensitive to their surroundings, but most sensors that use them are messy—cells cluster randomly, so each one experiences a slightly different stimulus. This project solves that by stringing cells in a straight line inside a microfluidic fibre, using viscoelastic liquids to control their spacing. Every cell in the line then feels the same change at the same time, producing a uniform, predictable response. The result is a first-of-its-kind "living" sensor that can be tuned to detect a specific stimulus by choosing the right cell type. If it works, these fibres could become cheap, disposable sensors for environmental monitoring—detecting pollutants in water, for instance, or temperature shifts in industrial processes. They might also be used in labs to test how cells respond to new drugs or electrical signals, replacing more complex setups. The project is fundamental science: it explores whether living cells can be reliably packaged into a fibre without killing them, and whether their responses remain consistent. That kind of understanding could eventually underpin a whole new class of bio-hybrid sensors.