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Reduced-gravity Environment Hardware Demonstrations of a Prototype Miniaturized Flow Cytometer and Companion Microfluidic Mixing Technology
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Suspended microfluidics.

Benjamin P Casavant1, Erwin Berthier, Ashleigh B Theberge

  • 1Carbone Cancer Center, Madison, WI 53705, USA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|June 5, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Suspended microfluidics, an open platform, enhances accessibility for life sciences by using surface tension for fluid control. This innovation enables new tools for cell invasion studies and metabolite extraction.

Area of Science:

  • Biotechnology
  • Bioengineering
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • Microfluidics offers powerful tools for biological research but faces limited adoption due to accessibility issues.
  • Open microfluidic systems promise greater accessibility, yet lack standardized design rules, hindering their widespread use.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce suspended microfluidics, an open platform that leverages surface tension for fluid manipulation in ceiling- and floor-less microscale structures.
  • To develop a predictive model for fluid flow in suspended microfluidic systems.
  • To demonstrate the utility of suspended microfluidics for biological applications, including cell invasion assays and 3D cell culture.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a suspended microfluidic platform utilizing surface tension to create open microscale fluidic structures.
Keywords:
arrayed migration platformhigh throughput metabolomicsmultiplexed cell culturepassive biphasic systemsspontaneous capillary flow

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  • Formulated a universal model for predicting fluid flow within these suspended microfluidic systems.
  • Fabricated arrays of microscale collagen membranes (μDots) for transwell-like cell invasion assays and 3D cell culture.
  • Designed a metabolite extraction platform using multilayer biphasic systems within open microchannels.

    • Main Results:

    • The developed fluid flow model accurately describes capillary phenomena in suspended microfluidics.
    • Demonstrated a transwell platform using μDots for discerning individual or collective cell invasion.
    • Showcased μDots as a versatile platform for multiplexed 3D cell growth, enabling studies on soluble factors and matrix interactions.
    • Successfully extracted metabolites, including steroids, from cell cultures using the suspended microfluidic platform.

    Conclusions:

    • Suspended microfluidics combines the fluidic control of closed systems with the accessibility of open systems.
    • This platform significantly lowers barriers to microfluidic adoption in life sciences research.
    • Offers novel applications in cell-based assays, 3D culture, and metabolite analysis.