Multi-function microsystem for cells migration analysis and evaluation of photodynamic therapy procedure in coculture

Cell migration is an important physiological process, which is involved in cancer metastasis. Therefore, the investigation of cell migration may lead to the development of novel therapeutic approaches. In this study, we have successfully developed a microsystem for culture of two cell types (non-malignant and carcinoma) and for analysis of cell migration dependence on distance between them. Finally, we studied quantitatively the influence of photodynamic therapy (PDT) procedures on the viability of pairs of non-malignant (MRC5 or Balb/3T3) and carcinoma (A549) cells coculture. The proposed geometry of the microsystem allowed for separate introduction of two cell lines and analysis of cells migration dependence on distance between the cells. We found that a length of connecting microchannel has an influence on cell migration and viability of non-malignant cells after PDT procedure. Summarizing, the developed microsystem can constitute a new tool for carrying out experiments, which offers a few functions: cell migration analysis, carcinoma and non-malignant cells coculture, and evaluation of PDT procedure in the various steps of cell migration.