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On‐chip neural cell cultivation using agarose‐microchamber array constructed by a photothermal etching method
Author(s) -
Moriguchi Hiroyuki,
Takahashi Kazunori,
Sugio Yoshihiro,
Wakamoto Yuichi,
Inoue Ippei,
Jimbo Yasuhiko,
Yasuda Kenji
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
electrical engineering in japan
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.136
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1520-6416
pISSN - 0424-7760
DOI - 10.1002/eej.10215
Subject(s) - agarose , photothermal therapy , materials science , etching (microfabrication) , photoresist , isotropic etching , molding (decorative) , layer (electronics) , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , biomedical engineering , composite material , chemistry , chromatography , medicine
We have developed a novel method for on‐chip cultivation of neural cells in a flexible agarose‐microchamber array on a glass slide. The agarose microchamber is a micrometer‐order cavity constructed on the surface of an agarose layer by molding a 50‐µm‐high square/circular micro‐cast of thick SU‐8 photoresist. In addition, the shape of the agarose microchamber was rearranged by using the photothermal etching method, in which we used an infrared (1064‐nm) focused laser beam as the heat source to melt and remove a portion of agarose gel at the heating spot. With the photothermal etching method, we can also manufacture narrow tunnel‐shaped channels between microchambers. When nerve cells were cultured on the agar‐microchamber array chip, the nerve cells in two adjacent microchambers connected through the photothermal‐etched channel after 48 hours of cultivation. Those results suggest the potential of an agarose‐microchamber array integrated with the photothermal etching method for the next stage of single cell cultivation and measurement of nerve cells, such as real‐time control of cell interactions during cultivation. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 146(2): 37–42, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10215