LOW-COST PORTABLE MICROFLUIDIC SYSTEM FOR CELL MIGRATION STUDIES

摘要

Low-cost and portable microfluidic systems are needed for cell migration research and Point of Care (POC) testing. This study introduces a low-cost and portable USB Microscope Microfluidic Chemotaxis Analysis System (UMCAS) for rapid analysis of cell chemotaxis studies. A standalone microfluidic gradient generator is also developed for rapid generation of chemical gradient in microfluidic device without need of any peripheral perfusion apparatus. A smart phone based application program was developed for the real-time remote monitoring of the migration data. This system is validated by observing the neutrophil migration in three different conditions: 1 ) medium control, 2) uniform IL-8 control, and 3) IL-8 gradient. The results show that neutrophils exhibit random migration in both medium and uniform IL- 8 control experiments, while they show strong directional migration to the IL-8 gradient. These results successfully validated the developed UMCAS system.