EXPLOITING FLUID WALLS TO PERFUSE CELL CULTURES PASSIVELY
Nebuloni F., Deroy C., Stovall-Kurtz N., Soitu C., Cook PR., Walsh EJ.
In vitro, human cells are often cultured in static medium; in vivo, they experience continuous flows that are replicated in vitro using pumps. We describe microfluidic circuits built on standard polystyrene Petri dishes in minutes using cell growth medium overlaid with an immiscible fluorocarbon to prevent evaporation. The aqueous phase is confined by fluid walls. Flows through these circuits can be driven passively by local differences in Laplace pressure created by the fluid walls. We are developing semi-analytical solutions that describe flows through conduits with fluid walls that morph as pressures change (contrast established theory for flows between solid walls).