Perfusion culture of mammalian cells in a microfluidic channel with a built-in pillar array

Abstract

In vitro culture of mammalian cells is fundamental to various biological studies such as single cell analysis, pathological research, and drug/therapy development. However, there are limitations with the current in vitro cell culture methods. Cells tend to lose their specific functions due to the lack of a cellular microenvironment when they are maintained under standard culture conditions. Microscale devices can be a novel tool to reestablish a cellular microenvironment for culturing mammalian cells in vitro and maintaining their differentiated functions. Different microscale cell culture techniques have been developed to suit different biological applications. This chapter describes a method to trap and culture mammalian cells in a microfluidic channel with a built-in pillar array. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.