Design, Fabrication, and Application of a Microfluidic Device for Investigating Physical Stress-Induced Behavior in Yeast and Microalgae

Purpose: The development of an efficient in vitro cell culture device to process various cells would represent a major milestone in biological science and engineering. However, the current conventional macro-scale in vitro cell culture platforms are limited in their capacity for detailed analysis an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of biosystems engineering 2014-09, Vol.39 (3), p.244
Main Authors: Soo Jung Oh, Jang Ho Kim, Hyun Ryul Ryu, Ki Taek Lim, Jong Hoon Chung, Noo Li Jeon
Format: Article
Language:Korean
Subjects:
Lab-on-a-chip
Mechanical stress
Microalgae
Microfluidic device
Yeast
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Summary:Purpose: The development of an efficient in vitro cell culture device to process various cells would represent a major milestone in biological science and engineering. However, the current conventional macro-scale in vitro cell culture platforms are limited in their capacity for detailed analysis and determination of cellular behavior in complex environments. This paper describes a microfluidic-based culture device that allows accurate control of parameters of physical cues such as pressure. Methods: A microfluidic device, as a model microbioreactor, was designed and fabricated to culture Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii under various conditions of physical pressure stimulus. This device was compatible with live-cell imaging and allowed quantitative analysis of physical cue-induced behavior in yeast and microalgae. Results: A simple microfluidic-based in vitro cell culture device containing a cell culture channel and an air channel was developed to investigate physical pressure stress-induced behavior in yeasts and microalgae. The shapes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii could be controlled under compressive stress. The lipid production by Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was significantly enhanced by compressive stress in the microfluidic device when compared to cells cultured without compressive stress. Conclusions: This microfluidic-based in vitro cell culture device can be used as a tool for quantitative analysis of cellular behavior under complex physical and chemical conditions.
ISSN:1738-1266