Understanding cell migration is a key step in unraveling many physiological phenomena
and predicting several pathologies, such as cancer metastasis. In particular, confinement has been
proven to be a key factor in the cellular migration strategy choice. As our insight in the field improves,
new tools are needed in order to empower biologists’ analysis capabilities. In this framework,
microfluidic devices have been used to engineer the mechanical and spatial stimuli and to investigate
cellular migration response in a more controlled way. In this work, we will review the existing
technologies employed in the realization of microfluidic cellular migration assays, namely the soft
lithography of PDMS and hydrogels and femtosecond laser micromachining. We will give an
overview of the state of the art of these devices, focusing on the different geometrical configurations
that have been exploited to study specific aspects of cellular migration. Our scope is to highlight the
advantages and possibilities given by each approach and to envisage the future developments in
in vitro migration studies under spatial confinement in microfluidic devices.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:90096 |
| Date | 22 February 2024 |
| Creators | Sala, Federico, Osellame, Roberto, Käs, Josef A., Martínez Vázquez, Rebeca |
| Publisher | MDPI |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion, doc-type:article, info:eu-repo/semantics/article, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | 2079-6374, 10.3390/bios12080604 |
Page generated in 0.0024 seconds