title: Microfluidic System for Automated Cell-based Assays.
abstract: Microfluidic cell culture is a promising technology for applications in the drug screening industry. Key benefits include improved biological function, higher quality cell-based data, reduced reagent consumption, and lower cost. In this work, we demonstrate how a microfluidic cell culture design was adapted to be compatible with the standard 96-well plate format. Key design features include the elimination of tubing and connectors, the ability to maintain long term continuous perfusion cell culture using a passive gravity driven pump, and direct analysis on the outlet wells of the microfluidic plate. A single microfluidic culture plate contained 8 independent flow units, each with 10(4) cells at a flow rate of 50 μl/day (6 minute residence time). The cytotoxicity of the anti-cancer drug etoposide was measured on HeLa cells cultured in this format, using a commercial lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) plate reader assay. The integration of microfluidic cell culture methods with commercial automation capabilities offers an exciting opportunity for improved cell-based screening.
authors.affiliation: CellASIC Corporation, San Leandro, CA, 94577.
authors.forename: Philip J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Navid
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ghorashian
authors.forename: Terry A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Gaige
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Hung