1. Microfluidic platforms for the investigation of intercellular signalling mechanisms.
- Author
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Nahavandi S, Tang SY, Baratchi S, Soffe R, Nahavandi S, Kalantar-zadeh K, Mitchell A, and Khoshmanesh K
- Subjects
- Animals, Coculture Techniques, Diffusion, Equipment Design, Gap Junctions metabolism, Green Fluorescent Proteins metabolism, HEK293 Cells, Hippocampus metabolism, Humans, Neurons metabolism, Synapses metabolism, Cell Communication, Microfluidic Analytical Techniques, Microfluidics methods, Signal Transduction
- Abstract
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., (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)
- Published
- 2014
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