Patent ID: 7169578

Claim:
A method of screening cells for a desired biological activity comprising: providing a cell isolation device defining a plurality of cell isolation regions, each cell isolation region being sized for isolating about one to about five cells on a surface of said cell isolation region, each cell isolation region encompassing a bioaffinity region on said surface, the cell isolation regions positioned to have a predetermined pitch with respect to one another; delivering the about one cell to about five cells to each of the cell isolation regions through a microfluidic channel; providing a cell expansion device defining a plurality of wells wherein the position of the wells of the cell expansion device corresponds to the predetermined pitch of the cell isolation regions; placing said cell isolation device in direct contact with said cell expansion device to form a seal such that fluid communication between cells in adjacent cell isolation regions is inhibited, inverting said cell isolation device, and transferring the about one to about five cells from said surface of said cell isolation regions to the wells; allowing about one cell to about five cells to proliferate and exhibit a desired biological activity; and assaying the biological activity of the about one to about five cells.