A zero-flow microfluidics for long-term cell culture and detection

A zero-flow microfluidic design is proposed in this paper, which can be used for long-term cell culture and detection, especially for a lab-on-chip integrated with a biosensor. It consists of two parts: a main microchannel; and a circle microchamber. The Finite Element Method (FEM) was employed to predict the fluid transport properties for a minimum fluid flow disturbance. Some commonly used microfluidic structures were also analysed systematically to prove the designed structure. Then the designed microfluidics was fabricated. Based on the simulations and experiments, this design provides a continuous flow environment, with a relatively stable and low shear stress atmosphere, similar to a zero-flow environment. Furthermore, the nutrients maintaining cells’ normal growth can be taken into the chamber through the diffusion effect. It also proves that the microfluidics can realize long-term cell culture and detection. The application of the structure in the field of biological microelectromechenical systems (BioMEMS) will provide a research foundation for microfluidic technology.