Migration of cancer cells from the primary organ site via the bloodstream to distant sites is critical to the development of malignant metastasis and is in part determined by soluble host factors in the serum. Conventional Boyden chamber assays to evaluate cell motility require high volumes of reagents and are impractical for high-throughput analysis. We have designed and evaluated a poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic device in order to systematically study cancer cell migration. Photolithography and soft lithography processes were used to fabricate the PDMS devices from a negative photoresist (SU-8) mold. The device provides two separate identical chambers that are interconnected by an array of identical narrow channels, high, wide, and long. One chamber is seeded with cancer cells whose migration characteristics are to be evaluated, while the other chamber contains media with chemoattractants toward which the cancer cells migrate. In this microfluidic chamber model, the migration of cancer cells within and across the microfluidic channels over a prescribed time was quantified using time-lapse photographs. The microfluidic chamber is a cost-effective platform that uses small volumes of reagents, can maintain stable chemokine gradients, allow real-time quantitative study of cancer cell migration, and provide information about cellular dynamics and biomechanical analysis. This work demonstrated the utility of the microfluidic device as a platform to study cancer cell migration as well as the potential applications in the identification of specific chemokine agents and development of drugs targeting cell migration.
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e-mail: smitha@uta.edu
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Research Papers
Demonstration of Cancer Cell Migration Using a Novel Microfluidic Device
Smitha M. N. Rao,
Smitha M. N. Rao
Department of Electrical Engineering,
e-mail: smitha@uta.edu
University of Texas at Arlington
, Arlington, TX 76019
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Victor K. Lin,
Victor K. Lin
Department of Urology,
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
, Dallas, TX 75390
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Uday Tata,
Uday Tata
Department of Electrical Engineering,
University of Texas at Arlington
, Arlington, TX 76019
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Ganesh V. Raj,
Ganesh V. Raj
Department of Urology,
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
, Dallas, TX 75390
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Jer-Tsong Hsieh,
Jer-Tsong Hsieh
Department of Urology,
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
, Dallas, TX 75390
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Kytai Nguyen,
Kytai Nguyen
Department of Bioengineering,
University of Texas at Arlington
, Arlington, TX 76019
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J.-C. Chiao
J.-C. Chiao
Department of Electrical Engineering,
University of Texas at Arlington
, Arlington, TX 76019
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Smitha M. N. Rao
Department of Electrical Engineering,
University of Texas at Arlington
, Arlington, TX 76019e-mail: smitha@uta.edu
Victor K. Lin
Department of Urology,
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
, Dallas, TX 75390
Uday Tata
Department of Electrical Engineering,
University of Texas at Arlington
, Arlington, TX 76019
Ganesh V. Raj
Department of Urology,
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
, Dallas, TX 75390
Jer-Tsong Hsieh
Department of Urology,
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
, Dallas, TX 75390
Kytai Nguyen
Department of Bioengineering,
University of Texas at Arlington
, Arlington, TX 76019
J.-C. Chiao
Department of Electrical Engineering,
University of Texas at Arlington
, Arlington, TX 76019J. Nanotechnol. Eng. Med. May 2010, 1(2): 021003 (6 pages)
Published Online: May 5, 2010
Article history
Received:
January 18, 2010
Revised:
February 16, 2010
Online:
May 5, 2010
Published:
May 5, 2010
Citation
Rao, S. M. N., Lin, V. K., Tata, U., Raj, G. V., Hsieh, J., Nguyen, K., and Chiao, J. (May 5, 2010). "Demonstration of Cancer Cell Migration Using a Novel Microfluidic Device." ASME. J. Nanotechnol. Eng. Med. May 2010; 1(2): 021003. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4001280
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