Fabrication of Microfluidic Chip for Investigation of Wound Healing Processes

This work describes a microfludic cell culture device embedded with microstructured posts fabricated by a photolithography technique and a replica-molding technique. BALB/3T3 fibroblast cells were cultured inside the PDMS microfludic chip to form a confluent state, and an external pressure was applied to the top part of the microfluidic chip to remove the cells from the contact areas of the posts. The applied pressure was removed after the formation of wound areas in the cell layer, and the wound healing processes were investigated by monitoring the migration and proliferation of BALB/3T3 fibroblast cells. The function of the microfluidic chip actuated by an applied pressure was investigated by a fluorescent material, and the formation of the wound areas by an applied pressure was investigated by optical microscopy. After the formation of the wound in the cell layer, optical microscopic images of the cells at the same positions were captured by an optical microscope at intervals of 12 h in order to monitor the wound healing processes by migration and proliferation of the cells. Finally, the wound healing was quantitatively assessed by plotting a growth curve. In conclusion, because the microfluidic device developed in this work is very simple and easy to use, the device might be applicable to assessing the wound healing processes and monitoring the migration and proliferation of other cells.