Designing Microfluidic Devices for Studying Cellular Responses Under Single or Coexisting Chemical/Electrical/Shear Stress Stimuli

Microfluidic devices are capable of creating a precise and controllable cellular micro-environment of pH, temperature, salt concentration, and other physical or chemical stimuli. They have been commonly used for in vitro cell studies by providing in vivo like surroundings. Especially, how cells response to chemical gradients, electrical fields, and shear stresses has drawn many interests since these phenomena are important in understanding cellular properties and functions. These microfluidic chips can be made of glass substrates, silicon wafers, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymers, polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) substrates, or polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) substrates. Out of these materials, PMMA substrates are cheap and can be easily processed using laser ablation and writing. Although a few microfluidic devices have been designed and fabricated for generating multiple, coexisting chemical and electrical stimuli, none of them was considered efficient enough in reducing experimental repeats, particular for screening purposes. In this report, we describe our design and fabrication of two PMMA-based microfluidic chips for investigating cellular responses, in the production of reactive oxygen species and the migration, under single or coexisting chemical/electrical/shear stress stimuli. The first chip generates five relative concentrations of 0, 1/8, 1/2, 7/8, and 1 in the culture regions, together with a shear stress gradient produced inside each of these areas. The second chip generates the same relative concentrations, but with five different electric field strengths created within each culture area. These devices not only provide cells with a precise, controllable micro-environment but also greatly increase the experimental throughput.