Cell Behavior in Flow Passing Through Micro Machined Gap

Abstract

Does each cell show specified behavior (deformation and alignment) as it passes through the micro-gap in the flow channel? A gap with a rectangular cross section (10 μm high, 0.4 mm wide, and length 0.1 mm long) was manufactured in the middle part of the flow path by photolithography technique. Myoblasts (C2C12: mouse myoblast cell line) sparsely suspended in the medium were used for the test. Deformation of each cell passing through the micro-gap was observed with an inverted phase contrast microscope. From the contour of the image of each cell passing through the gap, several parameters were analyzed: the two-dimensional projected area, the degree of deformation by ellipse approximation, and the alignment of the major axis of the deformed cell. The experimental results show that the alignment of each cell tends to deviate from the flow direction as the larger projected two-dimensional area.