Pressure-driven microfluidic perfusion culture device for integrated dose-response assays.

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Drug Discovery
• Microfluidics

Background:

• Cell-based assays are crucial in drug discovery.
• Microfluidic systems have advanced cell-based assays for reliability and high throughput.
• Integrating microfluidic systems with macro-scale processes is key for industrial applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advancements in microfluidic cell-based assays.
• To focus on pressure-driven perfusion culture devices.
• To discuss key techniques in microfluidic assay development.

Main Methods:

• Review of microfluidic cell-based assay device development.
• Discussion of microfluidic network design, fabrication, and liquid/cell manipulation.
• Analysis of detection schemes for pressure-driven perfusion culture.

Main Results:

• Microfluidic systems enable reliable and high-throughput cell-based assays.
• Pressure-driven perfusion culture devices are ideal for integrated assays.
• Recent progress shows semiautomatic and reliable pressure-driven microfluidic assays.

Conclusions:

• Microfluidic cell-based assays, particularly pressure-driven perfusion systems, are powerful tools for drug discovery.
• Advancements in design, fabrication, and manipulation enhance assay integration and reliability.
• The field is progressing towards more automated and dependable microfluidic assay platforms.