Application of Microfluidic Technology to Pancreatic Islet Research: First Decade of Endeavor

Abstract

β-cells respond to blood glucose by secreting insulin to maintain glucose homeostasis. Perifusion enables manipulation of biological and chemical cues in elucidating the mechanisms of β-cell physiology. Recently, microfluidic devices made of polydimethylsiloxane and Borofloat glass have been developed as miniaturized perifusion setups and demonstrated distinct advantages over conventional techniques in resolving rapid secretory and metabolic waveforms intrinsic to β-cells. In order to enhance sensing and monitoring capabilities, these devices have been integrated with analytical tools to increase assay throughput. The spatio-temporal resolutions of these analyses have been improved through enhanced flow control, valves and compartmentalization. For the first time, this review provides an overview of current devices used in islet studies and analyzes their strengths and experimental suitability. To realize the potential of microfluidic islet applications, it is essential to bridge the gap in design and application between engineers and biologists through the creation of standardized bioassays and user-friendly interfaces.

Systematic prevention of bubble formation and accumulation for long-term culture of pancreatic islet cells in microfluidic device

“…Microfluidic technology exhibits the ability to intently emulate in vivo islet microenvironments with greater precision and flexibility of flow control (Dishinger et al, 2007; Easley et al, 2009; Mohammed et al, 2009; Roper et al, 2003; Shackman et al, 2005) when compared to either static or macroperfusion cell culture systems. The principles governing the design, fabrication, and application of microfluidics for islet research have been previously described and are actively pursued (Wang et al, 2010); however, most of these studies focus on short-term applications, such as islet hormone secretion and regulation in response to stimuli. Currently, microfluidic long-term islet culture has not been thoroughly investigated and developed, in part due to easy formation and accumulation of air bubbles in the device over time.…”

Application of Microfluidic Biochips for Human Islet Transplantation

“…This technology has been emerging as a valuable tool for a wide range of biological applications. The general advantages of microfluidic tools in pancreatic islet research have been reviewed previously by our group [6].…”

“…Detailed reviews on microfluidic design and fabrication for islet have been described elsewhere [6,15]. Microfluidic techniques entail the design, fabrication, and application of a specific device for the manipulation of fluids at the microscale level.…”

Physiologically relevant organs on chips

“…Other microengineered physiological systems have also been developed to build heart [32, 50], muscle [51], brain [75, 76, 78, 79, 90–92], gut [93, 94], pancreatic islet [95], eye [77], tumor [34, 96] models.…”