A neuron-benign microfluidic gradient generator for studying the response of mammalian neurons towards axon guidance factors.

ABSTRACT: Investigation of biochemical cues in isolation or in combinations in cell culture systems is crucial for unraveling the mechanisms that govern neural development and repair. The most widely used experimental paradigms that elicit axon guidance in vitro utilize as the source of the gradient a pulsatile pipette, transfected cells, or a loaded gel, producing time-varying gradients of poor reproducibility which are not well suited for studying slow-growing mammalian cells. Although microfluidic device design have allowed for generating stable, complex gradients of diffusible molecules, the flow-induced shear forces in a microchannel has made it impossible to maintain viable mammalian neuronal cultures for sufficiently long times. In this paper, we describe axonal responses of mouse cortical ne

SUBMITTER: Bhattacharjee N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3786697 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature