Microfluidics for cell-based assays

Abstract

Microfluidic systems are powerful tools in chemistry, physics, and biology. The behavior of confined fluids differs from macroscopic systems and allows precise control of the chemical composition of fluids, as well as the temporal and spatial patterns of microscopic fluid elements. Cell-based assays can benefit when adapted to microfluidic formats, since microscale systems can offer low sample consumption, rapid application of well-defined solutions, generation of complex chemical waveforms, and significantly reduced analysis or experiment time.