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Designing Microfluidic Devices for Studying Cellular Responses Under Single or Coexisting Chemical/Electrical/Shear Stress Stimuli
Published on: August 13, 2016
Shear stress-dependent cell detachment from temperature-responsive cell culture surfaces in a microfluidic device
Zhonglan Tang1, Yoshikatsu Akiyama, Kazuyoshi Itoga
1Institute of Advanced Biomedical Engineering and Science, TWIns, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan.
Biomaterials
|July 24, 2012
Summary
A novel microfluidic device quantifies cell-material interactions by applying varying shear forces to cells on a temperature-responsive surface. This method precisely measures cell detachment rates, aiding in tissue engineering applications.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Cell Biology
- Microfluidics
Background:
- Understanding cell-material interactions is crucial for tissue engineering.
- Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PIPAAm) surfaces enable temperature-controlled cell detachment.
- Microfluidic systems offer precise control over cellular environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a quantitative method for assessing cell-material interactions using microfluidics.
- To investigate the effect of shear stress on cell detachment from PIPAAm-grafted surfaces.
- To evaluate the potential of this system for designing cell sheet culture surfaces.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a microfluidic chip with five parallel channels on a PIPAAm-TCPS surface.
- Application of different shear forces to NIH/3T3 mouse fibroblast cells (MFCs) and bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) in separate channels.
- Quantitative analysis of cell detachment using a peeling model to determine rate constants.
Main Results:
- Cells adhered well to PIPAAm-TCPS at 37°C.
- Increased shear stress accelerated cell detachment from the PIPAAm-TCPS surface.
- Shear stress-dependent cell detachment kinetics were successfully quantified.
- Cell transformation rate constant C(t) and intrinsic cell detachment rate constant k(0) were determined.
Conclusions:
- The microfluidic system effectively quantifies shear stress-induced cell detachment from PIPAAm surfaces.
- This approach provides a valuable tool for assessing cell-material interactions.
- The findings support the design of advanced cell culture surfaces for tissue engineering applications.

