Microfluidic 3D Cell Culture: Potential Application For Tissue-Based Bioassays

Abstract

Current fundamental investigations of human biology and the development of therapeutic drugs, commonly rely on two-dimensional (2D) monolayer cell culture systems. However, 2D cell culture systems do not accurately recapitulate the structure, function, physiology of living tissues, as well as highly complex and dynamic three-dimensional (3D) environments in vivo. The microfluidic technology can provide micro-scale complex structures and well-controlled parameters to mimic the in vivo environment of cells. The combination of microfluidic technology with 3D cell culture offers great potential for in vivo-like tissue-based applications, such as the emerging organ-on-a-chip system. This article will review recent advances in microfluidic technology for 3D cell culture and their biological applications.

Development of novel tools for thein vitroinvestigation of drug-induced liver injury

“…Different protocols, however, lead to big variations between the transformed hepatocyte-like cells [17]. Static cell culture systems fail to precisely control stem cell differentiation and maintain hepatic characteristics [60]. Alternatively, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can also be differentiated into hepatocyte-like cells without raising ethical concern [61].…”

Multiplexed instrument-free meningitis diagnosis on a polymer/paper hybrid microfluidic biochip

“…With various advantages including low sample/reagent consumption, integration, miniaturization and automation, the microfluidic lab-on-a-chip provides a platform for a variety of human health diagnostics with high efficiency (Dou et al 2016a; Dou et al 2016b; Dou et al 2015; Fu et al 2016; Li et al 2011; Li et al 2012; Li and Zhou 2013; Liu et al 2011; Sanjay et al 2016a; Sanjay et al 2015; Shen et al 2014; Tian et al 2016; Zhang et al 2014), as well as the possibility for multiplexed detection (Fang et al 2012; Zuo et al 2013). By taking advantage of different substrates, we previously developed a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/paper hybrid microfluidic device integrated with aptamer-functionalized graphene oxide nanosensors for one-step detection of multiple foodborne pathogens simultaneously (Zuo et al 2013).…”

A Microfluidic Device for Hydrodynamic Trapping and Manipulation Platform of a Single Biological Cell

“…The main challenge in hydrodynamic trapping is that it requires a precise microfluidic control of multiple streams and further investigation and optimization of cell trapping efficiencies are still required. Current microfluidic devices used for cell/3D cell culture face some drawbacks that limit their practical usage, such as the difficulty of accessing the trapped cells/3D cells in their trapping sites and the complexity of harvesting the cultured/treated cells for further analysis [46][47][48].…”