A versatile cancer cell trapping and 1D migration assay in a microfluidic device

Highly migratory cancer cells often lead to metastasis and recurrence and are responsible for the high mortality rates in many cancers despite aggressive treatment. Recently, the migratory behavior of patient-derived glioblastoma multiforme cells on microtracks has shown potential in predicting the likelihood of recurrence, while at the same time, antimetastasis drugs have been developed which require simple yet relevant high-throughput screening systems. However, robust in vitro platforms which can reliably seed single cells and measure their migration while mimicking the physiological tumor microenvironment have not been demonstrated. In this study, we demonstrate a microfluidic device which hydrodynamically seeds single cancer cells onto stamped or femtosecond laser ablated polystyrene microtracks, promoting 1D migratory behavior due to the cells’ tendency to follow topographical cues. Using time-lapse microscopy, we found that single U87 glioblastoma multiforme cells migrated more slowly on laser ablated microtracks compared to stamped microtracks of equal width and spacing (p