A low resistance microfluidic system for the creation of stable concentration gradients in a defined 3D microenvironment.

ABSTRACT: The advent of microfluidic technology allows control and interrogation of cell behavior by defining the local microenvironment with an assortment of biochemical and biophysical stimuli. Many approaches have been developed to create gradients of soluble factors, but the complexity of such systems or their inability to create defined and controllable chemical gradients has limited their widespread implementation. Here we describe a new microfluidic device which employs a parallel arrangement of wells and channels to create stable, linear concentration gradients in a gel region between a source and a sink well. Pressure gradients between the source and sink wells are dissipated through low resistance channels in parallel with the gel channel, thus minimizing the convection of solute in this r

SUBMITTER: Amadi OC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3119200 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature