Simultaneous or Sequential Orthogonal Gradient Formation in a 3D Cell Culture Microfluidic Platform

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Vol. 12; no. 5; pp. 612 - 622
• Main Authors: Uzel, Sebastien G. M., Amadi, Ovid C., Pearl, Taylor M., Lee, Richard T., So, Peter T. C., Kamm, Roger D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Blackwell Publishing Ltd 03.02.2016; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Animals; Biochemistry; Biology; Cancer; cancer cell migration; Cell Culture Techniques - methods; Cell Differentiation; Cell Line; Chemotaxis - drug effects; Complexity; Concentration gradient; Cyclohexylamines - pharmacology; Design engineering; Differentiation; dynamic chemotaxis; Dynamic control; Dynamical systems; Equipment Design; Fluorescence; Humans; Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate - pharmacology; In vitro methods and tests; Mice; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques - instrumentation; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques - methods; microfluidics; Motor Neurons - cytology; Motor Neurons - drug effects; Nanotechnology; Neural Tube - cytology; Neural Tube - embryology; Neurons; orthogonal gradients; Patterning; Response time; Retinoic acid; Screening; Stability; stem cell differentiation; Stem cells; Thiophenes - pharmacology; Time Factors; Tissue engineering; Tretinoin - pharmacology; Versatility; cancer cell migration; orthogonal gradients; stem cell differentiation; dynamic chemotaxis; microfluidics

Biochemical gradients are ubiquitous in biology. At the tissue level, they dictate differentiation patterning or cell migration. Recapitulating in vitro the complexity of such concentration profiles with great spatial and dynamic control is crucial in order to understand the underlying mechanisms of...