University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
Lab Chip. 2012 Jun 21;12(12):2103-17. doi: 10.1039/c2lc21142d. Epub 2012 Apr 25.
Isolated brain tissue, especially brain slices, are valuable experimental tools for studying neuronal function at the network, cellular, synaptic, and single channel levels. Neuroscientists have refined the methods for preserving brain slice viability and function and converged on principles that strongly resemble the approach taken by engineers in developing microfluidic devices. With respect to brain slices, microfluidic technology may 1) overcome the traditional limitations of conventional interface and submerged slice chambers and improve oxygen/nutrient penetration into slices, 2) provide better spatiotemporal control over solution flow/drug delivery to specific slice regions, and 3) permit successful integration with modern optical and electrophysiological techniques. In this review, we highlight the unique advantages of microfluidic devices for in vitro brain slice research, describe recent advances in the integration of microfluidic devices with optical and electrophysiological instrumentation, and discuss clinical applications of microfluidic technology as applied to brain slices and other non-neuronal tissues. We hope that this review will serve as an interdisciplinary guide for both neuroscientists studying brain tissue in vitro and engineers as they further develop microfluidic chamber technology for neuroscience research.
脑分离组织，尤其是脑片，是研究神经元在网络、细胞、突触和单通道水平上功能的有价值的实验工具。神经科学家们已经改进了保存脑片活力和功能的方法，并达成了与工程师开发微流控设备所采用的方法非常相似的原则。就脑片而言，微流控技术可能 1）克服传统接口和淹没脑片腔的局限性，改善氧/营养物质渗透到脑片中；2）更好地控制特定脑片区域的溶液流动/药物输送的时空特性；3）成功集成到现代光学和电生理技术中。在这篇综述中，我们强调了微流控设备在体外脑片研究中的独特优势，描述了微流控设备与光学和电生理仪器集成的最新进展，并讨论了微流控技术在脑片和其他非神经元组织中的临床应用。我们希望这篇综述能为研究体外脑组织的神经科学家和进一步开发用于神经科学研究的微流控腔技术的工程师提供一个跨学科的指南。
