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Published on: November 28, 2019
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Raising fluid walls around living cells
Cristian Soitu1, Alexander Feuerborn2,3, Cyril Deroy1
1Oxford Thermofluids Institute, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 0ES, UK.
Science Advances
|June 12, 2019
Summary
Biologists can now easily create adaptable microfluidic devices from standard petri dishes. This innovative method uses fluid interfaces to miniaturize cell-based workflows, enabling dynamic experiments like cloning and drug treatment.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Cell Biology
- Microfluidics
Background:
- Miniaturizing cell-based workflows is crucial for biological research.
- Existing microfluidic platforms often lack adaptability for dynamic cell culture experiments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a simple method for transforming conventional cell culture dishes into reconfigurable microfluidic devices.
- To enable miniaturized cell-based workflows directly on standard petri dishes.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing the interface between immiscible fluids as a construction material to create microfluidic arrangements.
- Repurposing standard petri dishes by reshaping fluid structures around living cells.
- Demonstrating dynamic reconfiguration of microfluidic structures during experiments.
Main Results:
- Successfully created adaptable microfluidic devices from standard petri dishes.
- Demonstrated the method's efficacy in cell cloning, clone selection, drug treatments, and wound healing assays.
- Showcased the ability to reconfigure microfluidic arrangements in situ during experiments.
Conclusions:
- The described method offers a versatile and biologically friendly approach to microfluidics.
- This technique can accelerate the adoption of microfluidics in biological research by simplifying device creation and enabling dynamic experimentation.
- The approach holds potential for realizing the full promise of microfluidics in cell-based assays.
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