title: Compartmentalized Microfluidic Platforms: The Unrivaled Breakthrough of In Vitro Tools for Neurobiological Research.
abstract: Microfluidic technology has become a valuable tool to the scientific community, allowing researchers to study fine cellular mechanisms with higher variable control compared with conventional systems. It has evolved tremendously, and its applicability and flexibility made its usage grow exponentially and transversely to several research fields. This has been particularly noticeable in neuroscience research, where microfluidic platforms made it possible to address specific questions extending from axonal guidance, synapse formation, or axonal transport to the development of 3D models of the CNS to allow pharmacological testing and drug screening. Furthermore, the continuous upgrade of microfluidic platforms has allowed a deeper study of the communication occurring between different neuronal and glial cells or between neurons and other peripheral tissues, both in physiological and pathological conditions. Importantly, the evolution of microfluidic technology has always been accompanied by the development of new computational tools addressing data acquisition, analysis, and modeling.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal.|Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal.|Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal, and.
authors.forename: Estrela
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2334-2292
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Neto
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal.|Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal.|Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Luís
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0580-8255
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Leitão
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal.|Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Daniela M
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8498-0664
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal.|Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Cecília J
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0719-574X
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal.|Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Inês S
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5591-5596
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Alencastre
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal.|Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4164-5713
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aguiar
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal, lamghari@ineb.up.pt.|Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal.|Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Meriem
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2500-4548
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lamghari
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D061249:Batch Cell Culture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D019149:Bioreactors; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006801:Humans; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000295:instrumentation*