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Article
High Throughput Studies of Cell Migration in 3D Microtissues Fabricated by a Droplet Microfluidic Chip
Micromachines
  • Xiangchen Che, Iowa State University
  • Jacob A. M. Nuhn, Iowa State University
  • Ian C. Schneider, Iowa State University
  • Long Que, Iowa State University
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
1-1-2016
DOI
10.3390/mi7050084
Abstract

Arrayed three-dimensional (3D) micro-sized tissues with encapsulated cells (microtissues) have been fabricated by a droplet microfluidic chip. The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a polymerized collagen network. One or multiple breast cancer cells were embedded within the microtissues, which were stored in arrayed microchambers on the same chip without ECM droplet shrinkage over 48 h. The migration trajectory of the cells was recorded by optical microscopy. The migration speed was calculated in the range of 3–6 µm/h. Interestingly, cells in devices filled with a continuous collagen network migrated faster than those where only droplets were arrayed in the chambers. This is likely due to differences in the length scales of the ECM network, as cells embedded in thin collagen slabs also migrate slower than those in thick collagen slabs. In addition to migration, this technical platform can be potentially used to study cancer cell-stromal cell interactions and ECM remodeling in 3D tumor-mimicking environments.

Comments

This article is published as Che, Xiangchen, Jacob Nuhn, Ian Schneider, and Long Que. "High throughput studies of cell migration in 3D microtissues fabricated by a droplet microfluidic chip." Micromachines 7, no. 5 (2016): 84. DOI: 10.3390/mi7050084. Posted with permission.

Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Copyright Owner
The Authors
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Citation Information
Xiangchen Che, Jacob A. M. Nuhn, Ian C. Schneider and Long Que. "High Throughput Studies of Cell Migration in 3D Microtissues Fabricated by a Droplet Microfluidic Chip" Micromachines Vol. 7 Iss. 5 (2016) p. 84
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/ian_schneider/16/