Fabrication of microfluidic cell culture platforms.

• Main Author: Tay, Li Min.
• Other Authors: School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/49927
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Microfluidics, with the concept of miniaturization, has been applied to analytical chemistry and biomedical applications due to its advantageous features over the conventional devices. One of the applications is to use microfluidic devices as a cell culture platform. In this project, photolithography and soft lithography played a critical role in the fabrication of microfluidic cell culture platform. Out of the many soft lithography techniques, replica molding was used in this project. Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), with its unique properties, was used as elastomer to fabricate micropost arrays and microchannels to form microfluidic chips for cell culturing. Rat adipose derived stem cells were cultured on these micropost arrays and changes in its mechanobiological features were observed. The cells had displayed cellular attachment by clinging to the microposts, and with its change in morphology.