Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 2, 2026

Contact-Free Co-Culture Model for the Study of Innate Immune Cell Activation During Respiratory Virus Infection
Published on: February 28, 2021
Enhancement of Virus Infection Using Dynamic Cell Culture in a Microchannel
Jeong A Kim1,2, Hye Jin Choi3, Chul Min Kim4,5
1School of Mechanical Engineering, Kyungpook National University, 80 Daehakro, Buk-gu, Daegu 41566, Korea. kja588@naver.com.
Abstract:
With increasing interest in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in the field of stem cell research, highly efficient infection of somatic cells with virus factors is gaining importance. This paper presents a method of employing microfluidic devices for dynamic cell culture and virus infection in a microchannel. The closed space in the microchannel provided a better environment for viruses to diffuse and contact cell surfaces to infect cells. The microfluidic devices were fabricated by photolithography and soft lithography. NIH/3T3 fibroblast cells were cultured in the microfluidic device in static and dynamic conditions and compared with the conventional culture method of using Petri dishes. Virus infection was evaluated using an enhanced green fluorescent protein virus as a model. Dynamic culture in the microchannel showed similar growth of cells to that in Petri dish culture, but the virus infection efficiency was four-times higher. The proposed dynamic culture system could be useful in iPSC research by providing efficient virus infection tools.
Related Concept Videos
What are Viruses?
Plant Tissue Culture
Protein Dynamics in Living Cells
Fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a fluorescent-protein-based detection technique used to quantify protein movement rates within the cell. This method exposes a small portion of the cell to an intense laser beam. The laser beam causes permanent photobleaching of the fluorophore-tagged proteins in the exposed region. As the bleached...
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
Dynamic Equilibrium
Cell Culture

