Department of Engineering Science, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan.
Biomicrofluidics. 2011 Mar 30;5(1):13401. doi: 10.1063/1.3528299.
Microfluidic techniques have been recently developed for cell-based assays. In microfluidic systems, the objective is for these microenvironments to mimic in vivo surroundings. With advantageous characteristics such as optical transparency and the capability for automating protocols, different types of cells can be cultured, screened, and monitored in real time to systematically investigate their morphology and functions under well-controlled microenvironments in response to various stimuli. Recently, the study of stem cells using microfluidic platforms has attracted considerable interest. Even though stem cells have been studied extensively using bench-top systems, an understanding of their behavior in in vivo-like microenvironments which stimulate cell proliferation and differentiation is still lacking. In this paper, recent cell studies using microfluidic systems are first introduced. The various miniature systems for cell culture, sorting and isolation, and stimulation are then systematically reviewed. The main focus of this review is on papers published in recent years studying stem cells by using microfluidic technology. This review aims to provide experts in microfluidics an overview of various microfluidic systems for stem cell research.
微流控技术最近已经被开发用于基于细胞的分析。在微流控系统中，目标是使这些微环境模拟体内环境。具有光学透明性和自动化协议的能力等优势，不同类型的细胞可以在实时培养、筛选和监测，以系统地研究它们在响应各种刺激时在良好控制的微环境下的形态和功能。最近，使用微流控平台研究干细胞引起了相当大的兴趣。尽管使用台式系统已经对干细胞进行了广泛的研究，但对它们在类似于体内的微环境中的行为的理解仍然缺乏，这些微环境刺激细胞增殖和分化。在本文中，首先介绍了使用微流控系统的最近的细胞研究。然后系统地回顾了用于细胞培养、分选和分离以及刺激的各种微型系统。这篇综述的主要重点是近年来使用微流控技术研究干细胞的论文。本综述旨在为微流控领域的专家提供干细胞研究的各种微流控系统的概述。
