Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7575, USA.
Cytotechnology. 2008 Mar;56(3):197-207. doi: 10.1007/s10616-008-9149-9. Epub 2008 May 17.
Human epidermal keratinocytes (HEK) are skin cells of primary importance in maintaining the body's defensive barrier and are used in vitro to assess the irritation potential and toxicity of chemical compounds. Microfluidic systems hold promise for high throughput irritant and toxicity assays, but HEK growth kinetics have yet to be characterized within microscale culture chambers. This research demonstrates HEK patterning on microscale patches of Type I collagen within microfluidic channels and maintenance of these cells under constant medium perfusion for 72 h. HEK were shown to maintain 93.0%-99.6% viability at 72 h under medium perfusion ranging from 0.025-0.4 mul min(-1). HEK maintained this viability while approximately 100% confluent-a level not possible in 96 well plates. Microscale HEK cultures offer the ability to precisely examine the morphology, behavior and viability of individual cells which may open the door to new discoveries in toxicological screening methods and wound healing techniques.
人表皮角质细胞（HEK）是维持人体防御屏障的重要皮肤细胞，常用于体外评估化学物质的刺激性和毒性。微流控系统有望实现高通量刺激性和毒性检测，但 HEK 的生长动力学尚未在微尺度培养室内得到描述。本研究在微流控通道内的 I 型胶原微区上对 HEK 进行了图案化，并在持续的介质灌注下维持这些细胞 72 小时。结果表明，在介质灌注范围为 0.025-0.4 μl min-1 时，HEK 在 72 小时内保持 93.0%-99.6%的存活率。HEK 在接近 100%的细胞融合水平下保持这种存活率，这在 96 孔板中是不可能实现的。微尺度 HEK 培养物为精确研究单个细胞的形态、行为和活力提供了可能，这可能为毒理学筛选方法和伤口愈合技术的新发现开辟了道路。
