Detecting cell-secreted growth factors in microfluidic devices using bead-based biosensors

A microfluidics device that can detect molecules that control the growth, movement and function of liver cells has been developed. Microfluidics systems require fewer cells and reagents to undertake biological assays, in comparison to conventional, macroscale cell cultures. However, the microfluidics tools for evaluating molecules secreted by cells at the microscale remain limited. By combining a microfluidics device with a fluorescence microbead-based assay, Alexander Revzin and his colleagues at Mayo Clinic, Minnesota, and the University of California, Davis, both in the United States, developed an integrated microsystem that uses a permeable hydrogel barrier to separate the cell culture chamber from the molecule-sensing channels. The researchers will now investigate how the device can be used to monitor cellular activity associated with liver injury, as well as be tweaked for application to other cell types.