Rapid fabrication of sieved microwells and cross-flow microparticle trapping
Open Access
- 24 September 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Scientific Reports
- Vol. 10 (1), 1-10
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-72700-5
Abstract
The use of microwells is popular for a wide range of applications due to its’ simplicity. However, the seeding of conventional microwells, which are closed at the bottom, is restricted to gravitational sedimentation for cell or particle deposition and therefore require lengthy settling times to maximize well occupancy. The addition of microfluidics to the capture process has accelerated cell or particle dispersion and improved capture ability but is mostly limited to gravitationally-driven settling for capture into the wells. An alternative approach to conventional closed-microwells, sieved microwells supersedes reliance on gravity by using hydrodynamic forces through the open pores at the bottom of the microwells to draw targets into the wells. We have developed a rapid fabrication method, based on flow lithography techniques, which allows us to easily customize the mesh pore sizes in a simple two-step process. Finally, by combining this microwell design with cross-flow trapping in a microfluidic two-layered channel, we achieve an 88 ± 6% well occupancy in under 10 s.This publication has 41 references indexed in Scilit:
- Single-Cell Electric Lysis on an Electroosmotic-Driven Microfluidic Chip with Arrays of MicrowellsSensors, 2012
- High-throughput single-cell quantification using simple microwell-based cell docking and programmable time-course live-cell imagingLab on a Chip, 2010
- Controlled-size embryoid body formation in concave microwell arraysBiomaterials, 2010
- Single cell trapping and DNA damage analysis using microwell arraysProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2010
- Cell-laden microwells for the study of multicellularity in lymphocyte fate decisionsBiomaterials, 2010
- Large-scale investigation of the olfactory receptor space using a microfluidic microwell arrayLab on a Chip, 2010
- Single cell trapping in larger microwells capable of supporting cell spreading and proliferationMicrofluidics and Nanofluidics, 2009
- A microwell array device capable of measuring single-cell oxygen consumption ratesSensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 2009
- Cell patterning chip for controlling the stem cell microenvironmentBiomaterials, 2007
- Large-Scale Single-Cell Trapping And Imaging Using Microwell ArraysAnalytical Chemistry, 2005