Use microfluidic chips to study the phototaxis of lung cancer cells

Abstract

Cell migration is an important process involved in wound healing, tissue development, and so on. Many studies have been conducted to explore how certain chemicals and electric fields induce cell movements in specific directions, which are phenomena termed chemotaxis and electrotaxis, respectively. However, phototaxis, the directional migration of cells or organisms toward or away from light, is rarely investigated due to the difficulty of generating a precise and controllable light gradient. In this study, we designed and fabricated a microfluidic chip for simultaneously culturing cells and generating a blue light gradient for guiding cell migration. A concentration gradient was first established inside this chip, and by illuminating it with a blue light-emitting diode (LED), a blue light gradient was generated underneath. Cell migration in response to this light stimulus was observed. It was found that lung cancer cells migrated to the dark side of the gradient, and the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was proportional to the intensity of the blue light.