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- ItemHigh spatial and temporal resolution cell manipulation techniques in microchannels(Cambridge : Royal Society of Chemistry, 2016) Novo, Pedro; Dell’Aica, Margherita; Janasek, Dirk; Zahedi, René P.The advent of microfluidics has enabled thorough control of cell manipulation experiments in so called lab on chips. Lab on chips foster the integration of actuation and detection systems, and require minute sample and reagent amounts. Typically employed microfluidic structures have similar dimensions as cells, enabling precise spatial and temporal control of individual cells and their local environments. Several strategies for high spatio-temporal control of cells in microfluidics have been reported in recent years, namely methods relying on careful design of the microfluidic structures (e.g. pinched flow), by integration of actuators (e.g. electrodes or magnets for dielectro-, acousto- and magneto-phoresis), or integrations thereof. This review presents the recent developments of cell experiments in microfluidics divided into two parts: an introduction to spatial control of cells in microchannels followed by special emphasis in the high temporal control of cell-stimulus reaction and quenching. In the end, the present state of the art is discussed in line with future perspectives and challenges for translating these devices into routine applications.
- ItemTailoring three-dimensional architectures by rolled-up nanotechnology for mimicking microvasculatures(Cambridge : Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015) Arayanarakool, Rerngchai; Meyer, Anne K.; Helbig, Linda; Sanchez, Samuel; Schmidt, Oliver G.Artificial microvasculature, particularly as part of the blood–brain barrier, has a high benefit for pharmacological drug discovery and uptake regulation. We demonstrate the fabrication of tubular structures with patterns of holes, which are capable of mimicking microvasculatures. By using photolithography, the dimensions of the cylindrical scaffolds can be precisely tuned as well as the alignment and size of holes. Overlapping holes can be tailored to create diverse three-dimensional configurations, for example, periodic nanoscaled apertures. The porous tubes, which can be made from diverse materials for differential functionalization, are biocompatible and can be modified to be biodegradable in the culture medium. As a proof of concept, endothelial cells (ECs) as well as astrocytes were cultured on these scaffolds. They form monolayers along the scaffolds, are guided by the array of holes and express tight junctions. Nanoscaled filaments of cells on these scaffolds were visualized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This work provides the basic concept mainly for an in vitro model of microvasculature which could also be possibly implanted in vivo due to its biodegradability.