Using Microfluidic Devices to Measure Lifespan and Cellular Phenotypes in Single Budding Yeast Cells

The overall goal of this experiment is to make a specialized microfluidic device and use it to measure the lifespan and cellular phenotypes of a single yeast cell. This method can help answer some of the key questions in the yeast aging field, such as why mother cells age and die and what are the earlier molecular events that drive the loss of cellular homeostasis and eventually cell aging and death? The major advantage of this technique is that we can track mother cells, track their lifespan, and the various molecular markers at the same time, so we can look for molecular events that correlate with lifespan.

Though this method can provide insight into yeast aging it can also be applied to other areas, such as monitoring secondary responses to participation that requires cell checking for many generations. Generally, individuals new to this method will struggle because microfluidic device fabrication, cell loading, microscope set up require a lot of practice to perform successfully. Prior demonstration of this method is critical as it is difficult to properly load the microfluidic device with yeast.