Microfluidic System for Spatiotemporal Investigations of Cellular Dynamics

摘要由于缺乏实验系统来控制细胞在空间和时间上的化学环境，以及测量细胞对这种化学刺激的反应，阻碍了对生物细胞过程动力学的探索和建模。该项目将开发一种新的仪器，以精确地操纵细胞的时空化学环境。新系统将集成微流控、数字控制的机电系统、显微镜和用于观察细胞的计算机视觉作为输入输出动态系统。改变供给Y型微流控网络的两个汇流通道的储液器的相对压力将导致输出通道中两个层流之间的界面移动。闭环压力控制将自动实现对流体界面的快速控制，以精确操纵电池的化学环境。整个系统将包括一个光学显微镜和一个荧光成像相机来观察流出通道中的界面和细胞。视觉系统将能够检测接口位置、细胞的位置和其他反应。为了证明该系统作为生物学研究工具的实用性，我们将研究趋化作用中的动态细胞运动。

AbstractEfforts to probe and modeling the dynamics of processes of biological cells have been hampered by the lack of experimental systems to both control the chemical environment of a cell in space and time and to measure the response of a cell to such chemical stimuli. This project will develop a new instrument to precisely manipulate the spatiotemporal chemical environment of a cell. The new system will integrate microfluidics, digitally controlled electromechanical systems, microscopy, and computer vision for observing cells as input-output dynamic systems. Varying the relative pressures of the reservoirs feeding two confluent channels of a Y-shaped microfluidic network will cause the interface between the two laminar streams in the output channel to move. Closed-loop pressure control will enable the rapid control of the fluid interface automatically for the precise manipulation of a cell's chemical environment. The complete system will include an optical microscope with a fluorescence imaging camera to observe the interface and cells in the outflow channel. A vision system will enable detection of the interface position and of the cell's position and other responses. To demonstrate the utility of the system as a biology research tool, we will investigate dynamic cell motion in chemotaxis.