title: Microplatforms for gradient field generation of various properties and biological applications.
abstract: Well-designed microfluidic platforms can be excellent tools to eliminate bottleneck problems or issues that have arisen in biological fields by providing unprecedented high-resolution control of mechanical and chemical microenvironments for cell culture. Among such microtechnologies, the precise generation of biochemical concentration gradients has been highly regarded in the biorelated scientific fields; even today, the principles and mechanisms for gradient generation continue to be refined, and the number of applications for this technique is growing. Here, we review the current status of the concentration gradient generation technologies achieved in various microplatforms and how they have been and will be applied to biological issues, particularly those that have arisen from cancer research, stem cell research, and tissue engineering. We also provide information about the advances and future challenges in the technological aspects of microscale concentration gradient generation.
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-Hwan
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Gi-Hun
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Joong Yull
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Health Science, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea jrpark@cau.ac.kr dbiomed@korea.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Sang-Hoon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000379:methods*; D003584:Cytological Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D055616:Microtechnology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
keywords: fabrication; lab-on-a-chip; microfluidics; microtechnology