Today,   most traditional method used in the research of immune cells, such as flow   cytometry and microscopy, are based on average values of cell responses.   However, immune cells are heterogeneous and respond differently to a given   stimuli. There is also a risk that important, but rare, behaviors of   individual cells are missed when a larger population of immune cells is   analyzed. Also, flow cytometry and microscopy do not allow long-term survival   of cells; these methods lack the ability to do dynamic long-term analysis of   motile immune cells, i.e. studies of cell-cell interactions, morphology and proliferation.   In a   patient who is affected by cancer, the cell heterogeneity contributes to the   ability to battle various types of cancer or virus infections. In an   outbreak, immune cells recognize and kill tumor cells. However, the number of   specific immune cells is sometimes too few to kill all the tumor cells in a   successful way. One way to help these patients is to isolate, select out and   cultivate the active immune cells with capacity to kill tumor cells.   The   Cell Physic Laboratory (a part of the department of Applied Physics) at the   Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) has developed a method for single-cell   analysis where the immune cells are trapped in microwells in a silicon chip.   The immune cells are then studied by using fluorescence microscopy in an   inverted setup. The method enables high-throughput experiments due to the   parallelization. Furthermore, since the immune cells survive long periods in   the chip, the cells can be analyzed over several days up to weeks. The   research group has also developed a semi-automatic ‘cell-picker’. The   cell-picker will be used in combination with the developed method for   single-cell analysis, which enables picking of cells of interest. In this report, experiments for the characterization and evaluation of the biocompatibility of two generations of the cell-picker will be presented. The experiments include development of a protocol for the cell-picking process, studies of the survival time of transferred cells for both generation of the cell-picker and studies of surface coating in the chip in order to increase the biocompatibility. The preliminary results indicate that the cell-picker has potential to be used as a selection tool for immune cells of interest.

Interactions of cells with their environment regulate important cellular functions and are required for the organization of cells into tissues and complex organisms. These interactions involve different types of adhesion receptors. Interactions with extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins are mainly mediated by the integrin family of adhesion molecules. Situations in which integrin-ECM interactions are deregulated cause diseases and play a crucial role in cancer cell invasion. Thus, the mechanisms underlying integrin-binding and regulation are of high interest, particularly at the molecular level. How can cell-ECM interactions be studied? While there are several methods to analyze cell adhesion, few provide quantitative data on adhesion forces. One group, single-cell force spectroscopy (SCFS), quantifies adhesion at the single-cell level and can therefore differentiate the adhesive properties of individual cells. One implementation of SCFS is based on atomic force microscopy (AFM); this technique has been employed in the presented work. Advantageously AFM-SCFS combines high temporal and spatial cell manipulation, the ability to measure a large range of adhesion forces and sufficiently high-force resolution to allow the study of single-molecule binding events in the context of a living cell. Since individual adhesion receptors can be analyzed within their physiological environment, AFM-SCFS is a powerful tool to study the mechanisms underlying integrin-regulation. The presented work is split into six chapters. Chapter one gives background information about cell-ECM interactions. In chapter two, different adhesion assays are compared and contrasted. The theoretical Bell-Evans model which is used to interpret integrin-mediated cell adhesion is discussed in chapter three. Thereafter, the three projects that form the core of the thesis are detailed in chapters four through six. In the first project (chapter 4), α2β1-integrin mediated cell adhesion to collagen type I, the most abundant structural protein in vertebrates, was quantified using CHO cells. Firstly, α2β1-collagen interactions were investigated at the single-molecule level. Dynamic force spectroscopy permitted calculation of bond specific parameters, such as the bond dissociation rate koff (1.3 ± 1.3 sec-1) and the barrier width xu (2.3 ± 0.3 Å). Next, α2β1-integrin mediated cell adhesion to collagen type I was monitored over contact times between 0 and 600 sec. Thereby the kinetics of α2β1-integrin mediated interactions was explored and insights into the underlying binding mechanisms were gained. In the second project (chapter five), effects of cryptic integrin binding sites within collagen type I exerted on pre-osteoblasts were investigated. Collagen type I matrices were thermally denatured which lead to exposure of cryptic RGD (Arg-Gly-Asp)-motifs. As a consequence pre-osteoblasts enhanced their adhesion to denatured collagen. Compared to native collagen type I, adhesion to denatured collagen was mediated by a different set of integrins, including αv- and α5β1-integrins. Cells grown on denatured collagen showed enhanced spreading and motility, which correlated with increased focal adhesion kinase phosphorylation levels. Moreover, osteogenic differentiation kinetics and differentiation potential were increased on denatured collagen. The findings of this project open new perspectives for optimization of tissue engineering substrates. In the third part (chapter six), the effect of the fusion protein BCR/ABL, a hallmark of chronic myeloid leukemia, on adhesion of myeloid progenitor cells was studied. Adhesion between BCR/ABL transformed progenitor cells to bone marrow derived stromal cells and to different ECM proteins was quantitatively compared to that of control cells. The tyrosine kinase activity of BCR/ABL enhanced cell adhesion, which was blocked by imatinib mesylate, a drug interfering with BCR/ABL activity. BCR/ABL-enhanced adhesion correlated with increased β1-integrin cell surface concentrations. Since adhesion of leukemic cells to the bone marrow compartment is critical for the development of drug resistance, the reported results may provide a basis for optimized target therapies. In the three described projects AFM-based SCFS was applied to investigate early steps of integrin-mediated adhesion at the molecular level. Taken together, the results demonstrate that AFM-SCFS is a versatile tool that permits monitoring of cell adhesion from single-molecule interactions to the formation of more complex adhesion sites at the force level. / Interaktionen zwischen Zellen und ihrer Umgebung sind maßgeblich an der Regulierung zellulärer Funktionen beteiligt und daher notwendig für die Organisation von Zellen in Geweben und komplexen Organismen. Zellinteraktionen mit der extrazellulären Matrix (EZM) werden hauptsächlich durch Integrine vermittelt. Situationen, in denen Integrin- EZM Interaktionen verändert sind, können Krankheiten verursachen und spielen zudem eine wichtige Rolle bei der Invasion von Krebszellen. Daher besteht ein großes Interesse darin, die molekularen Mechanismen, die Integrin-EZM Interaktionen regulieren, besser zu verstehen. Wie können Zell-EZM Interaktionen untersucht werden? Obwohl es mehrere Methoden gibt, mit denen Zelladhäsion untersucht werden kann, sind die wenigsten dazu geeignet, Zelladhäsionskräfte zu quantifizieren. Einzelzellspektroskopie erfasst die Adhäsionskräfte einzelner Zellen quantitativ und ermöglicht dadurch eine differenzierte Betrachtung der Adhäsion individueller Zellen. Eine Variante der Einzelzellspektroskopie basiert auf der Rasterkraftmikroskopie (AFM); diese Technik wurde in der vorliegenden Arbeit verwendet. Ein Vorteil von AFM- Einzelzellspektroskopie besteht darin, dass Zellen mit hoher zeitlicher und räumlicher Präzision manipuliert werden können. Zelladhäsionskräfte können zudem über einen großen Kraftbereich hinweg untersucht werden. Dabei ermöglicht es die hohe Kraftauflösung, einzelne Integrin-Ligandenbindungen in lebenden Zellen zu untersuchen. Die vorliegende Arbeit gliedert sich in sechs Kapitel. Kapitel eins gibt Hintergrundinformationen über Zell-EZM Wechselwirkungen. In Kapitel zwei werden verschiedene Adhäsionsassays einander gegenüber gestellt. Das theoretische Bell-Evans Modell, mit dessen Hilfe die gewonnenen Daten interpretiert wurden, wird in Kapitel drei diskutiert. Im Anschluss werden drei Projekte, welche das Herzstück dieser Doktorarbeit bilden, in Kapiteln vier bis sechs näher ausgeführt. Im ersten Projekt (Kapitel vier) wurde die Adhäsion von α2β1-Integrin exprimierenden CHO Zellen zu Kollagen I, dem häufigsten strukturellen Protein in Wirbeltieren, quantitativ untersucht. Zunächst wurden α2β1-Kollagen-Interaktionen auf Einzelmolekülebene analysiert. Mithilfe der dynamischen Kraftspektroskopie wurden für diese Bindung Dissoziationsrate koff (1.3 ± 1.3 sec-1) und Potentialbarrierenbreite xu (2.3 ± 0.3 Å) bestimmt. Daraufhin wurde die α2β1-vermittelte Adhäsion über einen Zeitraum von zehn Minuten untersucht. Dadurch konnten Einblicke in die Kinetik von α2β1-integrin vermittelter Zelladhäsion sowie in die zugrunde liegenden Regulationsmechanismen gewonnen werden. Im zweiten Projekt (Kapitel fünf) wurde die Rolle von kryptischen Integrin-Bindungsstellen in Kollagen I untersucht. Die zuvor verwendeten Kollagenoberflächen wurden thermisch denaturiert, wodurch versteckte RGD (Arg-Gly-Asp)-Sequenzen freigelegt wurden. Die partielle Denaturierung hatte- verglichen mit nativem Kollagen I- eine erhöhte Adhäsion von Präosteoblasten (MC3T3-E1) zur Folge, was auf das Binden zusätzlicher Integrine zurückgeführt wurde. Im Unterschied zu nativem Kollagen wurde die Zelladhäsion zu denaturiertem Kollagen I u.a. durch αv- and α5β1-Integrine vermittelt. Präosteoblasten zeigten verstärktes Zellspreiten sowie höhere Motilität auf denaturiertem Kollagen I; zudem wurde ein erhöhtes Differenzierungpotential der Präosteoblasten festgestellt. Die in diesem Projekt erhaltenen Einblicke bilden eine hilfreiche Basis für die Entwicklung optimierter Oberflächen für diverse Zell- und Gewebekulturanwendungen. Im dritten Projekt (Kapitel sechs) wurde der Einfluss des Fusionproteins BCR/ABL, charakteristisch für chronische myeloische Leukämie, auf die Adhäsion von myeloischen Vorläuferzellen untersucht. Dazu wurde die Adhäsion von BCR/ABL transformierten Vorläuferzellen (32D Zellen) bzw. Kontrollzellen zu Stromazellen (M2-10B4) sowie verschiedenen EZM Proteinen untersucht. BCR/ABL erhöhte die Zelladhäsion der myeloischen Vorläuferzellen signifikant. Dieser Effekt wurde durch die Zugabe von Imatinib, welches die Tyrosinkinaseaktivität von BCR/ABL inhibiert, aufgehoben. Die BCR/ABL-verstärkte Zelladhäsion korrelierte mit erhöhten β1-Integrin-konzentrationen. Da die Adhäsion von Leukämiezellen im Knockenmark bekanntermaßen kritisch für die Entwicklung von Resistenzen gegenüber verschiedenen Wirkstoffen ist, könnten die Ergebnisse dieser Studie eine Grundlage für die Entwicklung optimierter Target-Therapien sein. In den drei beschriebenen Projekten wurde AFM Einzelzellspektroskopie verwendet, um Integrin- vermittelte Adhäsion auf molekularer Ebene zu untersuchen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass AFM-Einzelzellspektroskopie ein vielseitiges Werkzeug darstellt, das überaus geeignet dazu ist, Zelladhäsion- ausgehend von Einzelmolekülinteraktionen bis hin zur Entstehung komplexerer Adhäsionsstellen- auf der Kraftebene zu verfolgen.

No description available.

No description available.

Genomic DNA is the template of life - the entity which is characterized by a self-sustaining anatomical development, regulated signaling processes, the ability to reproduce and to respond to stimuli. Through what is classically known as the central dogma, the genome is transcribed into mRNA, which in turn is translated into proteins. The proteins take part in most, if not all, cellular processes, and it is by unraveling these processes that we can begin to understand life and disease-causing mechanisms. In vitro and in vivo assays are two levels at which protein communication may be studied, and which permit manipulation and control over the proteins under investigation. But in order to retrieve a representation of the processes as close to reality as possible, in situ analysis may instead be applied as a complement to the other two levels of study. In situ PLA offers the ability to survey protein activity in tissue samples and primary cell lines, at a single cell level, detecting single targets in their natural unperturbed environment.   In this thesis new developments of the in situ PLA are described, along with a new technique offering in situ enzyme-free detection of proximity between biomolecules. The dynamic range of in situ PLA has now been increased by several orders of magnitude to cover analogous ranges of protein expression; the output signals have been modified to offer a greater signal-to-noise ratio and to limit false-positive-rates while also extending the dynamic range further; simultaneous detection of multiple protein complexes is now possible; proximity-HCR is presented as a robust and inexpensive enzyme-free assay for protein complex detection. The thesis also covers descriptions on how the techniques may be simultaneously applied, also together with other techniques, for the multiple data-point acquisition required by the emerging realm of systems biology. A future perspective is presented for how much more information may be simultaneously acquired from tissue samples to describe biomolecular interactions in a new manner. This will allow new types of biomarkers and drugs to be discovered, and a new holistic understanding of life.

Single cell analysis techniques are valuable for revealing individual cell behaviour, which is of interest to many researchers. In such experiments, various types of devices capable of aligning cells into organized arrays are often used. Application of cell arrays reduces the cell-cell interaction during the experiment, allows parallel analysis of cells and facilitates the use of automated equipment. This thesis documents the development of a novel Magnetic Single Cell Micro Array (MSCMA), which makes use of magnetic force to array cells. The working principles, process of design, simulation and fabrication of the prototypes of the MSCMA are described. Prototypes of the MSCMA were successfully fabricated and tested using Jurkat cells that have been labelled with immunomagnetic labels. Experimental results show that the prototypes are effectively in capturing and arraying the cells labelled with immunomagnetic labels. In addition, tests using simple magnetic particles revealed the behaviour of the magnetic field created by the MSCMA, and matched the simulation results well. Although the prototypes suffered from some fabrication defects, these defects had little effect on the performance of the prototypes. Design changes to the MSCMA are proposed for future work, such as implementing a transparent substrate, and addressing the issues of fabrication defects.

A wide range of screening strategies have been employed to isolate antibodies and other proteins with specific attributes, including binding affinity, specificity, stability and improved expression. However, there remains no high-throughput system to screen for target-binding proteins in a mammalian, intracellular environment. Such a system would allow binding reagents to be isolated against intracellular clinical targets such as cell signalling proteins associated with tumour formation (p53, ras, cyclin E), proteins associated with neurodegenerative disorders (huntingtin, betaamyloid precursor protein), and various proteins crucial to viral replication (e.g. HIV-1 proteins such as Tat, Rev and Vif-1), which are difficult to screen by phage, ribosome or cell-surface display. This study used the â-lactamase protein complementation assay (PCA) as the display and selection component of a system for screening a protein library in the cytoplasm of HEK 293T cells. The colicin E7 (ColE7) and Immunity protein 7 (Imm7) Escherichia coli proteins were used as model interaction partners for developing the system. These proteins drove effective â-lactamase complementation, resulting in a signal-to-noise ratio (9:1 – 13:1) comparable to that of other â-lactamase PCAs described in the literature. The model Imm7-ColE7 interaction was then used to validate protocols for library screening. Single positive cells that harboured the Imm7 and ColE7 binding partners were identified and isolated using flow cytometric cell sorting in combination with the fluorescent â-lactamase substrate, CCF2/AM. A single-cell PCR was then used to amplify the Imm7 coding sequence directly from each sorted cell. With the screening system validated, it was then used to screen a protein library based the Imm7 scaffold against a proof-of-principle target. The wildtype Imm7 sequence, as well as mutants with wild-type residues in the ColE7- binding loop were enriched from the library after a single round of selection, which is consistent with other eukaryotic screening systems such as yeast and mammalian cell-surface display. In summary, this thesis describes a new technology for screening protein libraries in a mammalian, intracellular environment. This system has the potential to complement existing screening technologies by allowing access to intracellular proteins and expanding the range of targets available to the pharmaceutical industry.

Single cell analysis techniques are valuable for revealing individual cell behaviour, which is of interest to many researchers. In such experiments, various types of devices capable of aligning cells into organized arrays are often used. Application of cell arrays reduces the cell-cell interaction during the experiment, allows parallel analysis of cells and facilitates the use of automated equipment. This thesis documents the development of a novel Magnetic Single Cell Micro Array (MSCMA), which makes use of magnetic force to array cells. The working principles, process of design, simulation and fabrication of the prototypes of the MSCMA are described. Prototypes of the MSCMA were successfully fabricated and tested using Jurkat cells that have been labelled with immunomagnetic labels. Experimental results show that the prototypes are effectively in capturing and arraying the cells labelled with immunomagnetic labels. In addition, tests using simple magnetic particles revealed the behaviour of the magnetic field created by the MSCMA, and matched the simulation results well. Although the prototypes suffered from some fabrication defects, these defects had little effect on the performance of the prototypes. Design changes to the MSCMA are proposed for future work, such as implementing a transparent substrate, and addressing the issues of fabrication defects.

Nous nous proposons d'étudier la gestion du bruit stochastique d'expression génique. On s'intéresse plus particulièrement à la dynamique du bruit lors de la réponse cellulaire. Comment évolue le bruit? Quels sont les mécanismes en jeux? Quelle est l'importance du bruit dans le fonctionnement cellulaire? Pour répondre à ces questions, nous nous appuyons sur le réseau de régulation génétique qui gère la réponse au stress nutritionnel chez E. Coli. L'étude du comportement dynamique de ce réseau, au niveau d'une population de bactéries, a été initiée et est portée par la forte collaboration de deux équipes de la région : une de bio-informaticiens (l'équipe de Hidde de Jong de l'INRIA Rhône-Alpes) et la deuxième de biologistes (l'équipe de Hans Geiselmann, Laboratoire d'Adaptation et Pathogénie des Micro-organismes). En profitant donc de l'expérience et de la compréhension acquise par ces équipes, nous étudions les réponses individuelles de chaque bactérie lors de la transition entre état de stress nutritionnel, et état de croissance exponentielle. Le bruit d'expression génique est quantifié dans des nœuds clés du réseau de régulation. Pour ce faire, les bactéries sont suivies individuellement par microscopie de fluorescence sur plusieurs générations. Les données de fluorescence collectées sur cellules uniques permettent d'étudier la variabilité inter-cellulaire. Cette variabilité est quantifiée tout le long de la réponse: à chaque instant, on connaît la distribution des densités de fluorescence cellulaire dans la population de cellules. Et le suivi des lignées individuelles permet de travailler sur une population de cellules saines: les individus malades ou morts qui ne se divisent pas, sont écartés. En réduisant ainsi les phénomènes cellulaires en jeux, on réduit le nombre de paramètres. Les sources de bruit sont moins nombreuses, et il est plus facile de comprendre les mécanismes en jeux. Les informations de lignage cellulaire permettent aussi d'étudier la variabilité introduite par la phase du cycle cellulaire: les événements de division cellulaire peut être artificiellement synchronisés. Le bruit est alors étudié sur une population en phase lors de la division. Cette étude montre que le bruit sondé n'est pas dominé par les différences dans la phase du cycle cellulaire. On peut donc modéliser nos cellules sans tenir compte des différences introduites par le cycle cellulaire. Le modèle testé est simplifié aux étapes de transcription-traduction-maturation. Les paramètres du modèle sont inférés de nos données expérimentales, et le modèle est testé à travers des simulations. / We aim to investigate the management of the stochastic noise in gene expression and more precisely the study of noise in dynamical cellular responses. How the noise varies following a perturbation? What mechanisms are at play? How important is noise in the cellular function? To answer these questions, we are interested in the genetic regulatory network that handles the nutritional stress response in E. Coli. The noise of gene expression is quantified in a key node of the network control. For that bacteria are followed individually by fluorescence and phase contrast microscopy over several generations. This variability between cells is quantified throughout the response to the nutritional perturbation: at every moment, we know the density distribution of cellular fluorescence in the cell population. And monitoring of individual lines allows us to take into account only the population of healthy cells: individuals that do not divide neither grow, are discarded. Thereby reducing other sources of variability (e.g. cellular phenomena) we reduce the number of parameters. Noise sources are less numerous, and it is easier to understand the mechanisms at play. Also the information on cell lineage allow to study the variability introduced by the phase of the cell cycle: the events of cell division can be artificially synchronized. This study shows that the noise sounded is not dominated by differences in the phase of the cell cycle. We can therefore model our cells regardless of the differences introduced by the cell cycle. The tested model is simplified to the steps of transcription-translation-maturation. The model parameters are inferred from our experimental data and the model is tested through simulations.

En dépit de leur importance, la caractérisation des communautés bactériennes dans l’environnement reste encore très incomplète. Les principales raisons sont, d’une part, la difficulté d’appréhender la totalité de la communauté bactérienne quand plus de 99% des bactéries demeurent récalcitrantes à la culture in vitro et ne peuvent donc être étudiées par les approches classiques de microbiologie. D’autre part, la métagénomique, censée contourner cette méthode de culture en s’intéressant à l’ensemble des génomes extraits des milieux d’études, demeure elle aussi imparfaite du fait de limitations techniques (biais d’extraction de l'ADN, de clonage, de PCR, de séquençage et d’assemblage des génomes etc.) et conceptuelles, inhérentes à la complexité et l’hétérogénéité des environnements. Pour compenser les limites de chacune de ces techniques, des méthodes de tri cellulaire appliquées en conjonction avec les deux premières pourraient aider à un meilleur décryptage de la diversité microbienne. Basée sur la sélection spécifique (taxonomique et/ou fonctionnelle) et l’isolement direct des cellules bactériennes ciblées à partir d’un échantillon environnemental complexe, l’étude est restreinte à une population spécifique, voire à une cellule isolée. Pourront alors être appliquées les approches classiques de mise en culture ou d’extraction de l’ADN pour une étude restreinte à l’ADN ou l’ARN, leur répétition sur les différentes populations devant à terme (lointain) approcher l’exhaustivité. C’est dans ce contexte que s’est positionné ce travail de thèse visant dans un premier temps à mettre au point un nouvel outil de tri cellulaire basé sur l’intégration de micro-aimants permanents dans un canal microfluidique. A partir de ce système de tri magnétique miniaturisé, offrant de nombreux avantages (dispositif portable, peu coûteux, nécessitant de faibles volumes réactionnels et potentiellement intégrable en « laboratoire sur puce »), une technique d’isolement sélectif de cellules bactériennes marquées magnétiquement a alors été développée. Ciblées sur des critères taxonomiques après hybridation in situ avec des sondes d’acides nucléiques biotinylés complémentaires d’une région spécifique du gène 23S rRNA, des cellules bactériennes ont été marquées magnétiquement après réaction de la sonde avec des nanoparticules magnétiques fonctionnalisées par des molécules de streptavidine. Les premiers résultats montrent l’établissement d’une méthode de tri suffisamment spécifique et sensible pour piéger les cellules marquées diluées (0,04%) au sein d’une suspension, à des niveaux compatibles avec l’isolement futur de populations d’intérêt à partir de communautés d’environnements complexes. Sur un principe comparable, l’approche a été adaptée à l’étude des transferts horizontaux de gènes in situ. Les applications d’un tri cellulaire grâce au marquage par des nanoparticules magnétiques et l’emploi de micro-aimants intégrés dans des microsystèmes fluidiques semblent donc très prometteuses pour le développement de la microbiologie environnementale. / Despite their importance, bacterial communities in the environment remain poorly characterized. On the one hand, it is difficult to gain knowledge of the community as a whole because over 99% of bacteria are recalcitrant to in vitro culture, rendering classic microbiological approaches imposible to carry out. On the other hand, metagenomics, which can be used to circumvent culture-based approaches by extracting all the genomes from a given environment, is also problematic given the associated technical limitations (biases related to DNA extraction, cloning, PCR, genome sequencing and assembling etc.), and conceptual difficulties related to the complexity and the homogeneity of the environments. In order to overcome some of the limitations of these approaches, bacterial cell selection methods have been developed and can be used to improve our understanding of microbial diversity. Based on taxonomic and/or functional selection and the direct isolation of bacterial cells from an environmental sample, bacterial cell selection can be used to reduce microbial community complexity by targeting specific populations, or even an isolated cell. A variety of classic approaches such as cultivation or DNA/RNA extraction can then be carried out. This cycle can theoretically be repeated until all members of the community are characterized. The aim of this doctoral thesis was to design a novel cell selection tool based on the permanent integration of micro-magnets into a microfluidic canal. In conjunction with a new miniaturized magnetic selection system that provides several advantages over larger systems (portable, low cost, requiring smaller reaction volumes and can be potentially integrated on “laboratory on a chip” systems), a method for selective bacterial cell isolation using magnetic labeling was developed. The bacterial cells were targeted based on taxonomic criteria; biotin-labeled probes were developed for a specific region of the 23S rRNA gene. Following in situ hybridization with the probes, baceterial cells were labeled with streptavidin-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles. First results showed that the tool was specific and sensitive enough to trap labeled and diluted (0,04%) cells from a suspension at levels that are comparible to populations of interest found in complex environmental communities. This tool has also been adapted to study in situ horizontal gene transfer as well. The application of a cellular selection tool that labels targets with magnetic nanoparticles coupled to fluidic microsystems with integrated nano-magnets looks very promising for future studiesin environmental microbiology.