title: Application of on-chip cell cultures for the detection of allergic response.
abstract: In this report, the development of a microfluidic cell chip for monitoring allergic response is described. A rat basophilic leukemia cell line (RBL-2H3), a tumor analog of rat mucosal mast cells, has been used as a model to observe its allergic response upon antigen stimulus. The cells were cultivated on a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) chip, the surface of which was modified by several methods. The PDMS chip, which comprised a cell cultivation chamber and microfluidic channels, was fabricated by conventional molding methods. In order to detect the allergic response, a fluorescent dye, quinacrine, was introduced inside the cell compartment that included histamine. The cells were stimulated with dinitrophenylated bovine serum albumin (DNP-BSA) after incubation with anti-DNP IgE. When exocytosis events occurred, the microfluidic system detected the fluorescent signal of quinacrine, which was released from RBL-2H3 cells by using a photomultiplier tube (PMT) fitted onto a microscope.
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Tatsunokuchi, Ishikawa 923-1292, Japan. yasutaka@jaist.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yasutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsubara
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Yasutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.forename: Eiichi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tamiya
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001681:Biological Assay / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006636:Histamine Release; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015471:Leukemia, Basophilic, Acute / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D044085:Microfluidics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D051381:Rats; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers