An integrated optofluidic device for single-cell sorting driven by mechanical propertiesElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c4lc01496k

We present a novel optofluidic device for real-time sorting on the basis of cell mechanical properties, measured by optical stretching. The whole mechanism, based on optical forces, does not hamper the viability of the tested cells, which can be used for further analysis. The device effectiveness is demonstrated by extracting a sample population enriched with highly metastatic cells from a heterogeneous cell mixture. Cell sorting based on mechanical properties is demonstrated using an optofluidic chip by extracting highly metastatic cells from a heterogeneous population.