title: Dynamic trapping and high-throughput patterning of cells using pneumatic microstructures in an integrated microfluidic device.
abstract: Microfluidic trapping methods create significant opportunities to establish highly controlled cell positioning and arrangement for the microscale study of numerous cellular physiological and pathological activities. However, a simple, straightforward, dynamic, and high-throughput method for cell trapping is not yet well established. In the present paper, we report a direct active trapping method using an integrated microfluidic device with pneumatic microstructures (PμSs) for both operationally and quantitatively dynamic localization of cells, as well as for high-throughput cell patterning. We designed and fabricated U-shape PμS arrays to replace the conventional fixed microstructures for reversible trapping. Multidimensional dynamics and spatial consistency of the PμSs were optically characterized and quantitatively demonstrated. Furthermore, we performed a systematic trapping investigation of the PμSs actuated at a pressure range of 0 psi to 20 psi using three types of popularly applied mammalian cells, namely, human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells, human hepatocellular liver carcinoma HepG2 cells, and human breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cells. The cells were quantitatively trapped and controlled by the U-shape PμSs in a programmatic and parallel manner, and could be opportunely released. The trapped cells with high viability were hydrodynamically protected by the real-time actuation of specifically designed umbrella-like PμSs. We demonstrate that PμSs can be applied as an active microfluidic component for large-scale cell patterning and manipulation, which could be useful in many cell-based tissue organization, immunosensor, and high-throughput imaging and screening.
authors.affiliation: Colleges of Science and Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Wenming
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jian-chun
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Tu
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Yaolei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jinyi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002470:Cell Survival; D057166:High-Throughput Screening Assays / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006801:Humans; D057446:Hydrodynamics; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D011312:Pressure; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation*