Work

Polar stimulation and constrained cell migration in microfluidic channels

Year: 2007

Type: article

Abstract: Asymmetrical delivery of stimuli to moving cells for perturbing spatially-heterogeneous intracellular signaling is an experimental challenge not adequately met by existing technologies. Here, we report a robust microfluidic platform allowing localized treatment of the front and/or back of moving cells which crawl through narrow channels that they completely occlude. The enabling technical element for this study is a novel design for precise, passive balancing of flow inside the microfluidic device by contacting two fluid streams before splitting them again. The microchannels constrain cell morphology and induce qualitative and quantitative changes in neutrophil chemotaxis that mimic cells crawling through tissues.

Source: Lab on a Chip

DOI: 10.1039/b710524j

Authors: Daniel Irimia, Guillaume Charras, Nitin Agrawal, Timothy Mitchison, Mehmet Toner

Institutions: Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Shriners Hospitals for Children - Boston

Language: English

Topic: Microfluidic and Capillary Electrophoresis Applications

Subfield: Biomedical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Royal Society, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering

Awards: G3807518743, G523433005, Bio-MicroElectroMechanical Systems (BioMEMS) Resource Center