Particles and cells were trapped and released using a microfluidic device. The device enabled the trapping of single particles with a trapping efficiency of greater than 95%, and allowed for single particles and cells to be trapped, released and manipulated by simply controlling corresponding valves. Stable immobilisation of large numbers of single cells could be achieved in a few minutes. Proof-of-concept super-resolution imaging experiments with mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) were conducted by exploiting super-resolution photoactivated localisation microscopy (PALM). Cells and nuclei were stably trapped and imaged. Centromeres of ∼200 nm size could be identified with a localisation precision of <15 nm.