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1.
Microfluidic devices have been established as useful platforms for cell culture for a broad range of applications, but challenges associated with controlling gradients of oxygen and other soluble factors and hemodynamic shear forces in small, confined channels have emerged. For instance, simple microfluidic constructs comprising a single cell culture compartment in a dynamic flow condition must handle tradeoffs between sustaining oxygen delivery and limiting hemodynamic shear forces imparted to the cells. These tradeoffs present significant difficulties in the culture of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), where shear is known to regulate signaling, proliferation, and expression. Several approaches designed to shield cells in microfluidic devices from excessive shear while maintaining sufficient oxygen concentrations and transport have been reported. Here we present the relationship between oxygen transport and shear in a "membrane bilayer" microfluidic device, in which soluble factors are delivered to a cell population by means of flow through a proximate channel separated from the culture channel by a membrane. We present an analytical model that describes the characteristics of this device and its ability to independently modulate oxygen delivery and hemodynamic shear imparted to the cultured cells. This bilayer configuration provides a more uniform oxygen concentration profile that is possible in a single-channel system, and it enables independent tuning of oxygen transport and shear parameters to meet requirements for MSCs and other cells known to be sensitive to hemodynamic shear stresses.  相似文献   

2.
We present a microfluidic device designed for maintenance and culture of non-adherent mammalian cells, which enables both recirculation and refreshing of medium, as well as easy harvesting of cells from the device. We demonstrate fabrication of a novel microfluidic device utilizing Braille perfusion for peristaltic fluid flow to enable switching between recirculation and refresh flow modes. Utilizing fluid flow simulations and the human promyelocytic leukemia cell line, HL-60, non-adherent cells, we demonstrate the utility of this RECIR-REFRESH device. With computer simulations, we profiled fluid flow and concentration gradients of autocrine factors and found that the geometry of the cell culture well plays a key role in cell entrapping and retaining autocrine and soluble factors. We subjected HL-60 cells, in the device, to a treatment regimen of 1.25% dimethylsulfoxide, every other day, to provoke differentiation and measured subsequent expression of CD11b on day 2 and day 4 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) on day 4. Our findings display perfusion sensitive CD11b expression, but not TNF-α build-up, by day 4 of culture, with a 1:1 ratio of recirculation to refresh flow yielding the greatest increase in CD11b levels. RECIR-REFRESH facilitates programmable levels of cell differentiation in a HL-60 non-adherent cell population and can be expanded to other types of non-adherent cells such as hematopoietic stem cells.  相似文献   

3.
Li J  Zhu L  Zhang M  Lin F 《Biomicrofluidics》2012,6(2):24121-2412113
Cell migration is involved in physiological processes such as wound healing, host defense, and cancer metastasis. The movement of various cell types can be directed by chemical gradients (i.e., chemotaxis). In addition to chemotaxis, many cell types can respond to direct current electric fields (dcEF) by migrating to either the cathode or the anode of the field (i.e., electrotaxis). In tissues, physiological chemical gradients and dcEF can potentially co-exist and the two guiding mechanisms may direct cell migration in a coordinated manner. Recently, microfluidic devices that can precisely configure chemical gradients or dcEF have been increasingly developed and used for chemotaxis and electrotaxis studies. However, a microfluidic device that can configure controlled co-existing chemical gradients and dcEF that would allow quantitative cell migration analysis in complex electrochemical guiding environments is not available. In this study, we developed a polydimethylsiloxane-based microfluidic device that can generate better controlled single or co-existing chemical gradients and dcEF. Using this device, we showed chemotactic migration of T cells toward a chemokine CCL19 gradient or electrotactic migration toward the cathode of an applied dcEF. Furthermore, T cells migrated more strongly toward the cathode of a dcEF in the presence of a competing CCL19 gradient, suggesting the higher electrotactic attraction. Taken together, the developed microfluidic device offers a new experimental tool for studying chemical and electrical guidance for cell migration, and our current results with T cells provide interesting new insights of immune cell migration in complex guiding environments.  相似文献   

4.
In this study, we developed a miniaturized microfluidic-based high-throughput cell toxicity assay to create an in vitro model of Parkinson's disease (PD). In particular, we generated concentration gradients of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) to trigger a process of neuronal apoptosis in pheochromocytoma PC12 neuronal cell line. PC12 cells were cultured in a microfluidic channel, and a concentration gradient of 6-OHDA was generated in the channel by using a back and forth movement of the fluid flow. Cellular apoptosis was then analyzed along the channel. The results indicate that at low concentrations of 6-OHDA along the gradient (i.e., approximately less than 260 μM), the neuronal death in the channel was mainly induced by apoptosis, while at higher concentrations, 6-OHDA induced neuronal death mainly through necrosis. Thus, this concentration appears to be useful for creating an in vitro model of PD by inducing the highest level of apoptosis in PC12 cells. As microfluidic systems are advantageous in a range of properties such as throughput and lower use of reagents, they may provide a useful approach for generating in vitro models of disease for drug discovery applications.  相似文献   

5.
Understanding biomolecular gradients and their role in biological processes is essential for fully comprehending the underlying mechanisms of cells in living tissue. Conventional in vitro gradient-generating methods are unpredictable and difficult to characterize, owing to temporal and spatial fluctuations. The field of microfluidics enables complex user-defined gradients to be generated based on a detailed understanding of fluidic behavior at the μm-scale. By using microfluidic gradients created by flow, it is possible to develop rapid and dynamic stepwise concentration gradients. However, cells exposed to stepwise gradients can be perturbed by signals from neighboring cells exposed to another concentration. Hence, there is a need for a device that generates a stepwise gradient at discrete and isolated locations. Here, we present a microfluidic device for generating a stepwise concentration gradient, which utilizes a microwell slide''s pre-defined compartmentalized structure to physically separate different reagent concentrations. The gradient was generated due to flow resistance in the microchannel configuration of the device, which was designed using hydraulic analogy and theoretically verified by computational fluidic dynamics simulations. The device had two reagent channels and two dilutant channels, leading to eight chambers, each containing 4 microwells. A dose-dependency assay was performed using bovine aortic endothelial cells treated with saponin. High reproducibility between experiments was confirmed by evaluating the number of living cells in a live-dead assay. Our device generates a fully mixed fluid profile using a simple microchannel configuration and could be used in various gradient studies, e.g., screening for cytostatics or antibiotics.  相似文献   

6.
Biomolecule gradients play an important role in the understanding of various biological processes. Typically, biological cells are exposed to linear and nonlinear concentration gradients and their response is studied for understanding cell growth, cell migration, and cell differentiation mechanisms. Recent studies have demonstrated the use of microfluidic devices for precise and stable concentration gradient generation. However, most of the reported devices are geometrically complex and lack dynamic controllability. In this work, a novel microfluidic gradient generator is presented which utilizes the induced charge electro-osmosis (ICEO) by introducing conducting obstacle in the microchannel. With the ICEO flow component, significant transverse convection can be generated within the microchannel, which can, in turn, be used to create nonlinear as well as asymmetric gradients. The characteristics of the developed concentration gradient are dependent on the interplay between fixed charge electro-osmotic and ICEO flows. It is shown that the proposed device can switch between linear and nonlinear gradients by just altering the applied electric field. Finally, the formation of user-defined concentration profiles (linear, convex, and concave) is demonstrated by varying the conducting obstacle size.  相似文献   

7.
In this paper, we develop a microfluidic device capable of generating nitric oxide (NO) gradients for cell culture using spatially controlled chemical reactions. NO plays an essential role in various biological activities, including nervous, immune, and cardiovascular systems. The device developed in this paper can control NO gradients without utilizing expensive and hazardous high purity NO gas sources or direct addition of NO donors. Consequently, the device provides an efficient, cost-effective, robust, and stable platform to generate NO gradients for cell culture studies. In the experiments, NO gradients are first characterized using a NO-sensitive fluorescence dye, and cell experiments using aortic smooth muscle cells are conducted. The results demonstrate that the device can alter the intracellular NO concentrations and further affect the Ca2+ concentration oscillation for the cells. The device developed in this paper provides a powerful platform for researchers better study the biological roles of NO and its spatial distribution using in vitro cell models with minimal instrumentation.  相似文献   

8.
Culture of cells as three-dimensional (3D) aggregates, named spheroids, possesses great potential to improve in vitro cell models for basic biomedical research. However, such cell spheroid models are often complicated, cumbersome, and expensive compared to conventional Petri-dish cell cultures. In this work, we developed a simple microfluidic device for cell spheroid formation, culture, and harvesting. Using this device, cells could form uniformly sized spheroids due to strong cell–cell interactions and the spatial confinement of microfluidic culture chambers. We demonstrated cell spheroid formation and culture in the designed devices using embryonic stem cells, carcinoma cells, and fibroblasts. We further scaled up the device capable of simultaneously forming and culturing 5000 spheroids in a single chip. Finally, we demonstrated harvesting of the cultured spheroids from the device with a simple setup. The harvested spheroids possess great integrity, and the cells can be exploited for further flow cytometry assays due to the ample cell numbers.  相似文献   

9.
A size-selective cell sorting microfluidic device that utilizes optical force is developed. The device consists of a three-dimensional polydimethylsiloxane microstructure comprised of two crossed microchannels in a three-dimensional configuration. A line shaped focused laser beam is used for automatic size-selective cell sorting in a continuous flow environment. As yeast cells in an aqueous medium are fed continuously into a lower channel, the line shaped focused laser beam is applied (perpendicular to the direction of flow) at the junction of the two crossed channels. The scattering force of the laser beam was employed to push cells matching specific criteria upward from one channel to another. The force depends on the size of the cells, the laser power, and the fluid flow speed. The variation in size of yeast cells causes them to follow different routes at the intersection. For flow speeds below 30 μm∕s, all yeast cells larger than 3 μm were removed from the main stream. As a result, a high purity sample of small cells can be collected at the outlet of bottom channel.  相似文献   

10.
Microfluidics has become increasingly important for the study of biochemical cues because it enables exquisite spatiotemporal control of the microenvironment. Well-characterized, stable, and reproducible generation of biochemical gradients is critical for understanding the complex behaviors involved in many biological phenomena. Although many microfluidic devices have been developed which achieve these criteria, the ongoing challenge for these platforms is to provide a suitably benign and physiologically relevant environment for cell culture in a user-friendly format. To achieve this paradigm, microfluidic designs must consider the full scope of cell culture from substrate preparation, cell seeding, and long-term maintenance to properly observe gradient sensing behavior. In addition, designs must address the challenges associated with altered culture conditions and shear forces in flow-based devices. With this consideration, we have designed and characterized a microfluidic device based on the principle of stacked flows to achieve highly stable gradients of diffusible molecules over large areas with extremely low shear forces. The device utilizes a benign vacuum sealing strategy for reversible application to pre-established cell cultures. We apply this device to an existing culture of breast cancer cells to demonstrate the negligible effect of its shear flow on migratory behavior. Lastly, we extend the stacked-flow design to demonstrate its scalable architecture with a prototype device for generating an array of combinatorial gradients.  相似文献   

11.
Liu Z  Xiao L  Xu B  Zhang Y  Mak AF  Li Y  Man WY  Yang M 《Biomicrofluidics》2012,6(2):24111-2411112
Precisely controlling the spatial distribution of biomolecules on biomaterial surface is important for directing cellular activities in the controlled cell microenvironment. This paper describes a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) gradient-generating microfluidic device to immobilize the gradient of cellular adhesive Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptide on poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogel. Hydrogels are formed by exposing the mixture of PEG diacrylate (PEGDA), acryloyl-PEG-RGD, and photo-initiator with ultraviolet light. The microfluidic chip was simulated by a fluid dynamic model for the biomolecule diffusion process and gradient generation. PEG hydrogel covalently immobilized with RGD peptide gradient was fabricated in this microfluidic device by photo-polymerization. Bone marrow derived rat mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were then cultured on the surface of RGD gradient PEG hydrogel. Cell adhesion of rat MSCs on PEG hydrogel with various RGD gradients were then qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed by immunostaining method. MSCs cultured on PEG hydrogel surface with RGD gradient showed a grated fashion for cell adhesion and spreading that was proportional to RGD concentration. It was also found that 0.107–0.143 mM was the critical RGD concentration range for MSCs maximum adhesion on PEG hydrogel.  相似文献   

12.
We employed direct-current electric fields (dcEFs) to modulate the chemotaxis of lung cancer cells in a microfluidic cell culture device that incorporates both stable concentration gradients and dcEFs. We found that the chemotaxis induced by a 0.5 μM/mm concentration gradient of epidermal growth factor can be nearly compensated by a 360 mV/mm dcEF. When the effect of chemical stimulation was balanced by the electrical drive, the cells migrated randomly, and the path lengths were largely reduced. We also demonstrated electrically modulated chemotaxis of two types of lung cancer cells with opposite directions of electrotaxis in this device.  相似文献   

13.
In this article, we present a microfluidic platform for passive fluid pumping for pump-free perfusion cell culture, cell-based assay, and chemical applications. By adapting the passive membrane-controlled pumping principle from the previously developed perfusion microplate, which utilizes a combination of hydrostatic pressure generated by different liquid levels in the wells and fluid wicking through narrow strips of a porous membrane connecting the wells to generate fluid flow, a series of pump-free membrane-controlled perfusion microfluidic devices was developed and their use for pump-free perfusion cell culture and cell-based assays was demonstrated. Each pump-free membrane-controlled perfusion microfluidic device comprises at least three basic components: an open well for generating fluid flow, a micron-sized deep chamber/channel for cell culture or for fluid connection, and a wettable porous membrane for controlling the fluid flow. Each component is fluidically connected either by the porous membrane or by the micron-sized deep chamber/channel. By adapting and incorporating the passive membrane-controlled pumping principle into microfluidic devices, all the benefits of microfluidic technologies, such as small sample volumes, fast and efficient fluid exchanges, and fluid properties at the micro-scale, can be fully taken advantage of with this pump-free membrane-controlled perfusion microfluidic platform.  相似文献   

14.
Microfluidic devices have emerged as important tools for experimental physiology. They allow to study the effects of hydrodynamic flow on physiological and pathophysiological processes, e.g., in the circulatory system of the body. Such dynamic in vitro test systems are essential in order to address fundamental problems in drug delivery and targeted imaging, such as the binding of particles to cells under flow. In the present work an acoustically driven microfluidic platform is presented in which four miniature flow channels can be operated in parallel at distinct flow velocities with only slight inter-experimental variations. The device can accommodate various channel architectures and is fully compatible with cell culture as well as microscopy. Moreover, the flow channels can be readily separated from the surface acoustic wave pumps and subsequently channel-associated luminescence, absorbance, and/or fluorescence can be determined with a standard microplate reader. In order to create artificial blood vessels, different coatings were evaluated for the cultivation of endothelial cells in the microchannels. It was found that 0.01% fibronectin is the most suitable coating for growth of endothelial monolayers. Finally, the microfluidic system was used to study the binding of 1 μm polystyrene microspheres to three different types of endothelial cell monolayers (HUVEC, HUVECtert, HMEC-1) at different average shear rates. It demonstrated that average shear rates between 0.5 s−1 and 2.25 s−1 exert no significant effect on cytoadhesion of particles to all three types of endothelial monolayers. In conclusion, the multichannel microfluidic platform is a promising device to study the impact of hydrodynamic forces on cell physiology and binding of drug carriers to endothelium.  相似文献   

15.
Molecular gradients play a significant role in regulating biological and pathological processes. Although conventional gradient-generators have been used for studying chemotaxis and axon guidance, there are still many limitations, including the inability to maintain stable tempo-spatial gradients and the lack of the cell monitoring in a real-time manner. To overcome these shortcomings, microfluidic devices have been developed. In this study, we developed a microfluidic gradient device for regulating neuron axon guidance. A microfluidic device enables the generation of Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gradient profiles in a temporal and spatial manner. We test the effect of the gradient profiles on axon guidance, in the BDNF concentration gradient axon towards the high concentration gradient. This microfluidic gradient device could be used as a powerful tool for cell biology research.  相似文献   

16.
We have investigated the bonding stability of various silane treatments for the integration of track-etched membranes with poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microfluidic devices. We compare various treatments using trialkoxysilanes or dipodal silanes to determine the effect of the organofunctional group, cross-link density, reaction solvent, and catalyst on the bond stability. We find that devices made using existing silane methods delaminated after one day when immersed in cell culture medium at 37 °C. In contrast, the dipodal silane, bis[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]amine, is shown to yield stable and functional integration of membranes with PDMS that is suitable for long-term cell culture. To demonstrate application of the technique, we fabricated an open-surface device in which cells cultured on a track-etched membrane can be stimulated at their basal side via embedded microfluidic channels. C2C12 mouse myoblasts were differentiated into myotubes over the course of two weeks on these devices to demonstrate biocompatibility. Finally, devices were imaged during the basal-side delivery of a fluorescent stain to validate the membrane operation and long-term stability of the bonding technique.  相似文献   

17.
This paper reports a two-layered polydimethylsiloxane microfluidic device—Flip channel, capable of forming uniform-sized embryoid bodies (EBs) and performing stem cell differentiation within the same device after flipping the microfluidic channel. The size of EBs can be well controlled by designing the device geometries, and EBs with multiple sizes can be formed within a single device to study EB size-dependent stem cell differentiation. During operation of the device, cells are positioned in the designed positions. As a result, observation and monitoring specific population of cells can be achieved for further analysis. In addition, after flipping the microfluidic channel, stem cell differentiation from the EBs can be performed on an unconfined flat surface that is desired for various differentiation processes. In the experiments, murine embryonic stem cells (ES-D3) are cultured and formed EBs inside the developed device. The size of EBs is well controlled inside the device, and the neural differentiation is performed on the formed EBs after flipping the channel. The EB size-dependent stem cell differentiation is studied using the device to demonstrate its functions. The device provides a useful tool to study stem cell differentiation without complicated device fabrication and tedious cell handling under better-controlled microenvironments.  相似文献   

18.
Metastatic cancer cells must traverse a microenvironment ranging from extremely hypoxic, within the tumor, to highly oxygenated, within the host''s vasculature. Tumor hypoxia can be further characterized by regions of both chronic and intermittent hypoxia. We present the design and characterization of a microfluidic device that can simultaneously mimic the oxygenation conditions observed within the tumor and model the cell migration and intravasation processes. This device can generate spatial oxygen gradients of chronic hypoxia and produce dynamically changing hypoxic microenvironments in long-term culture of cancer cells.  相似文献   

19.
This paper presents a microfluidic device for simultaneous mechanical and electrical characterization of single cells. The device performs two types of cellular characterization (impedance spectroscopy and micropipette aspiration) on a single chip to enable cell electrical and mechanical characterization. To investigate the performance of the device design, electrical and mechanical properties of MC-3T3 osteoblast cells were measured. Based on electrical models, membrane capacitance of MC-3T3 cells was determined to be 3.39±1.23 and 2.99±0.82 pF at the aspiration pressure of 50 and 100 Pa, respectively. Cytoplasm resistance values were 110.1±37.7 kΩ (50 Pa) and 145.2±44.3 kΩ (100 Pa). Aspiration length of cells was found to be 0.813±0.351 μm at 50 Pa and 1.771±0.623 μm at 100 Pa. Quantified Young's modulus values were 377±189 Pa at 50 Pa and 344±156 Pa at 100 Pa. Experimental results demonstrate the device's capability for characterizing both electrical and mechanical properties of single cells.  相似文献   

20.
A microfluidic rectifier incorporating an obstructed microchannel and a PDMS membrane is proposed. During forward flow, the membrane deflects in the upward direction; thereby allowing the fluid to pass over the obstacle. Conversely, during reverse flow, the membrane seals against the obstacle, thereby closing the channel and preventing flow. It is shown that the proposed device can operate over a wide pressure range by increasing or decreasing the membrane thickness as required. A microfluidic pump is realized by integrating the rectifier with a simple stepper motor mechanism. The experimental results show that the pump can achieve a vertical left height of more than 2 m. Moreover, it is shown that a maximum flow rate of 6.3 ml/min can be obtained given a membrane thickness of 200 μm and a motor velocity of 80 rpm. In other words, the proposed microfluidic rectifier not only provides an effective means of preventing reverse flow but also permits the realization of a highly efficient microfluidic pump.  相似文献   

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