Millipore Technical Publications |
 | AN- AN4776EN00 | |
Microfluidic perfusion enables long-term cell culture, precise microenvironment control and gene expression analysis | ||
| Lit No: | AN4776EN00 | |
| Year: | 2012 | |
| Introduction The analysis of living cells in vitro is critical to understanding basic biology, signaling pathways, drug effects, and disease models. Current methods provide excellent means to interrogate living cells via biomolecular probes, fluorescence microscopy, and genetic manipulation1. However, technology for environment control of living cells during analysis has not advanced significantly since the Petri dish. There is a growing body of evidence to indicate that the cellular environment, or “niche,” is just as important (or even more critical) than genetic factors for determining cell phenotype. Therefore, a method for providing more accurate, dynamic control of living cells has the potential to dramatically advance the state-of-the-art for live cell analysis. The CellASIC™ ONIX Microfluidic System, in conjunction with the CellASIC™ ONIX Microfluidic Plate, provides perfusion-based microenvironment control for longterm, high quality, live cell microscopy (Figure 1). The microfluidic chamber recreates the physiologic mass transport condition for optimized cell health. Four upstream fluidic channels allow controlled exposure of the cells to different solutions during live imaging. The plate can also be cultured in a standard incubator using a dedicated gravity driven flow channel. The cells are in contact with a #1.5 thickness (170 μm) optical glass surface, enabling high quality imaging using an inverted microscope. An integrated microincubator system delivers temperature and gas control to the microfluidic chambers. Click the PDF above for the full document |
