TY - JOUR
T1 - A microfluidic cell culture platform for real-time cellular imaging
AU - Hsieh, Chia Chun
AU - Huang, Song Bin
AU - Wu, Ping Ching
AU - Shieh, Dar Bin
AU - Lee, Gwo Bin
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the National Science Council in Taiwan for financial support of this project.
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - This study reports a new microfluidic cell culture platform for real-time, in vitro microscopic observation and evaluation of cellular functions. Microheaters, a micro temperature sensor, and micropumps are integrated into the system to achieve a self-contained, perfusion-based, cell culture microenvironment. The key feature of the platform includes a unique, ultra-thin, culture chamber with a depth of 180 μm, allowing for real-time, high-resolution cellular imaging by combining bright field and fluorescent optics to visualize nanoparticle-cell/ organelle interactions. The cell plating, culturing, harvesting and replenishing processes are performed automatically. The developed platform also enables drug screening and real-time, in situ investigation of the cellular and sub-cellular delivery process of nano vectors. The mitotic activity and the interaction between cells and the nano drug carriers (conjugated quantum dots-epirubicin) are successfully monitored in this device. This developed system could be a promising platform for a wide variety of applications such as high-throughput, cell-based studies and as a diagnostic cellular imaging system.
AB - This study reports a new microfluidic cell culture platform for real-time, in vitro microscopic observation and evaluation of cellular functions. Microheaters, a micro temperature sensor, and micropumps are integrated into the system to achieve a self-contained, perfusion-based, cell culture microenvironment. The key feature of the platform includes a unique, ultra-thin, culture chamber with a depth of 180 μm, allowing for real-time, high-resolution cellular imaging by combining bright field and fluorescent optics to visualize nanoparticle-cell/ organelle interactions. The cell plating, culturing, harvesting and replenishing processes are performed automatically. The developed platform also enables drug screening and real-time, in situ investigation of the cellular and sub-cellular delivery process of nano vectors. The mitotic activity and the interaction between cells and the nano drug carriers (conjugated quantum dots-epirubicin) are successfully monitored in this device. This developed system could be a promising platform for a wide variety of applications such as high-throughput, cell-based studies and as a diagnostic cellular imaging system.
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U2 - 10.1007/s10544-009-9307-7
DO - 10.1007/s10544-009-9307-7
M3 - Article
C2 - 19370417
AN - SCOPUS:68249105490
SN - 1387-2176
VL - 11
SP - 903
EP - 913
JO - Biomedical Microdevices
JF - Biomedical Microdevices
IS - 4
ER -