Recent advances in contact and non-contact single-cell operations

Single-cell operations are crucial technologies across fundamental biology, diagnostics, and therapeutics. The precise characterization and measurement of the physical and biological properties of cells provide critical support for disease diagnosis, clinical trial, and pharmaceutical research. Based on different cellular properties and operational objectives, researchers have developed two principal modalities for these operations: contact and non-contact micromanipulation. Contact micromanipulation achieves precise cell operations, such as grasping and injection, through direct mechanical interaction. In contrast, non-contact micromanipulation relies on various physical fields (e.g., electric, optical, acoustic, magnetic, and microfluidics) to apply remote forces, enabling indirect, high-throughput operations. This review systematically covers recent advances in both contact and non-contact single-cell operations. We provide a critical analysis of their core operational principles and a comparative assessment of their advantages and disadvantages across diverse application environments. Furthermore, this review provides an outlook on key future development trends, particularly in advanced materials, multimodal systems, and fluidics, aiming to facilitate the realization of more precise and stable cell operations.