A novel method of cultivating cardiac myocytes in agarose microchamber chips for studying cell synchronization.

ABSTRACT: We have developed a new method that enables agar microstructures to be used to cultivate cardiac myocyte cells in a manner that allows their connection patterns to be controlled. Non-contact three-dimensional photo-thermal etching with a 1064-nm infrared focused laser beam was used to form the shapes of agar microstructures. This wavelength was selected as it is not absorbed by water or agar. Identical rat cardiac myocytes were cultured in adjacent microstructures connected by microchannels and the interactions of asynchronous beating cardiac myocyte cells observed. Two isolated and independently beating cardiac myocytes were shown to form contacts through the narrow microchannels and by 90 minutes had synchronized their oscillations. This occurred by one of the two cells stopping their os

SUBMITTER: Kojima K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC517946 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature