Modular microinstrumentation for endothelial cell research

Microfabrication technology is implemented to realize a fluidic microinstrument for the study of endothelial cell elongation and cell responsiveness to fluid flow. The microinstrument contains arrays of microchannels, 30-300 μm wide, that are fabricated by deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) of silicon and anodic bonding to glass. Silicon fluidic input/output modules, also micromachined in silicon, provide modular connections between the microchannels and off-chip devices for flow monitoring and control. Image analysis of cells cultured in microchannels shows that the cells become progressively more elongated as channel width decreases. When subjected to a fluid shear stress of 2 N/m², cuboidal cells grown in 200 μm wide microchannels progressively align and elongate in the direction of flow.