Over a century of neuron culture: from the hanging drop to microfluidic devices.
Year: 2012
Type: article
Abstract: The brain is the most intricate, energetically active, and plastic organ in the body. These features extend to its cellular elements, the neurons and glia. Understanding neurons, or nerve cells, at the cellular and molecular levels is the cornerstone of modern neuroscience. The complexities of neuron structure and function require unusual methods of culture to determine how aberrations in or between cells give rise to brain dysfunction and disease. Here we review the methods that have emerged over the past century for culturing neurons in vitro, from the landmark finding by Harrison (1910) - that neurons can be cultured outside the body - to studies utilizing culture vessels, micro-islands, Campenot and brain slice chambers, and microfluidic technologies. We conclude with future prospects for neuronal culture and considerations for advancement. We anticipate that continued innovation in culture methods will enhance design capabilities for temporal control of media and reagents (chemotemporal control) within sub-cellular environments of three-dimensional fluidic spaces (microfluidic devices) and materials (e.g., hydrogels). They will enable new insights into the complexities of neuronal development and pathology.
Source: PubMed
Authors: Larry J Millet, Martha U Gillette
Institution: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Language: English
Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1606878134