Research progress on mechanical and flow properties of blood cells in microcirculation using microfluidic devices

Microfluidics (or lab-on-a-chip) is an important technology suitable for a wide range of biomedical applications from single-cell analysis to point-of-care diagnosis. In this paper, we review recent advances in the applications of the microfluidic technology in the field of cell biology and biomechanics. We highlight examples of some successful applications of microfluidic devices in probing the mechanical and rheological characteristics of blood cells in healthy and diseased states at single-cell and multi-cell levels, and in investigating the cell migration and separation at the whole-cell population.