PDMS-Based Microfluidic Devices for Cell Culture

Abstract

Microfluidic technology has affirmed itself as a powerful tool in medical and biological research by offering the possibility of managing biological samples in tiny channels and chambers. Among the different applications, the use of microfluidics for cell cultures has attracted much interest from scientists worldwide. Traditional cell culture methods need high quantities of samples and reagents that are strongly reduced in miniaturized systems. In addition, the microenvironment is better controlled by scaling down. In this paper, we provide an overview of the aspects related to the design of a novel microfluidic culture chamber, the fabrication approach based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) soft-lithography, and the most critical issues in shrinking the size of the system.

A versatile microfluidic device for highly inclined thin illumination microscopy in the mossPhyscomitrella patens

“…Initially, the cells can be cultured for several days in the microdevice after injection, permitting adaptation to the new environment. Microdevice is fabricated from a gaspermeable polymer that has been proven as biocompatible for both plant 9 and animal cells 11,12 . According to our data, shallow microfluidic channels are as efficient as coverslips to flatten cells for HILO imaging.…”

“…Microfluidic devices are commonly fabricated from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a biocompatible material suitable for long-term culture conditions [9][10][11][12] . PDMS can be moulded into different designs and patterns; for example, a recent study using microdevice has demonstrated that tip-growing plant cells are able to penetrate extremely narrow 1-µm gaps 13 .…”

Review of 3D cell culture with analysis in microfluidic systems

“…Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is the preferred material for making microuidic devices due to its long history, ease of use, gas permeability, and relative low cost. 25,26 However, these devices experience problems with lab-to-lab reproducibility and can be time consuming to make. PDMS is also gas permeable, which has advantages for oxygen diffusion into cell culture media but presents problems for long term cell culture where media evaporation can lead to osmolality shis and possible complications with cell culture.…”

“…PDMS is also gas permeable, which has advantages for oxygen diffusion into cell culture media but presents problems for long term cell culture where media evaporation can lead to osmolality shis and possible complications with cell culture. 26,27 Additionally, the uncured monomer can leach into the cell culture media or small molecules can diffuse into the material making analyte analysis difficult. 26,28 To combat the complications presented by PDMS, microuidic devices have also been made out of thermo plastics and glass, although each presents challenges in fabrication.…”

“…26,27 Additionally, the uncured monomer can leach into the cell culture media or small molecules can diffuse into the material making analyte analysis difficult. 26,28 To combat the complications presented by PDMS, microuidic devices have also been made out of thermo plastics and glass, although each presents challenges in fabrication. 29 More recent (last 10 years) advancements have been made in additive manufacturing, greatly reducing the time of fabrication and increasing lab-to-lab reproducibility.…”