Microfluidic Platforms for the Investigation of Intercellular Signalling Mechanisms

作者：Nahavandi Sofia; Tang Shi Yang; Baratchi Sara; Soffe Rebecca; Nahavandi Saeid; Kalantar Zadeh Kourosh; Mitchell Arnan; Khoshmanesh Khashayar

来源：Small, 2014, 10(23): 4810-4826.

DOI：10.1002/smll.201401444

Intercellular signalling has been identified as a highly complex process, responsible for orchestrating many physiological functions. While conventional methods of investigation have been useful, their limitations are impeding further development. Microfluidics offers an opportunity to overcome some of these limitations. Most notably, microfluidic systems can emulate the in-vivo environments. Further, they enable exceptionally precise control of the microenvironment, allowing complex mechanisms to be selectively isolated and studied in detail. There has thus been a growing adoption of microfluidic platforms for investigation of cell signalling mechanisms. This review provides an overview of the different signalling mechanisms and discusses the methods used to study them, with a focus on the microfluidic devices developed for this purpose.

• 出版日期2014-12-10
• 单位迪肯大学