title: Microfluidic devices for studying heterotypic cell-cell interactions and tissue specimen cultures under controlled microenvironments.
abstract: Microfluidic devices allow for precise control of the cellular and noncellular microenvironment at physiologically relevant length- and time-scales. These devices have been shown to mimic the complex in vivo microenvironment better than conventional in vitro assays, and allow real-time monitoring of homotypic or heterotypic cellular interactions. Microfluidic culture platforms enable new assay designs for culturing multiple different cell populations and∕or tissue specimens under controlled user-defined conditions. Applications include fundamental studies of cell population behaviors, high-throughput drug screening, and tissue engineering. In this review, we summarize recent developments in this field along with studies of heterotypic cell-cell interactions and tissue specimen culture in microfluidic devices from our own laboratory.
authors.forename: Ioannis K
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Zervantonakis
authors.forename: Chandrasekhar R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Kothapalli
authors.forename: Seok
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Ryo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sudo
authors.forename: Roger D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Kamm