Three dimensional spheroids formation platform using micro-rotation flow

Hepatocytes are responsible for metabolic and detoxification processes in the liver. During the tissue formation from isolated cells, they increase the cell density and acquire their liver-specific functions, new protein expression and cell signaling. Hence, tissue-based in vitro studies are strongly demanded. We develop a MEMS platform which forms 3D spheroids by microfluodic handing of cells. The microfludic platform is composed of PDMS chamber fabricated by microlithography and a circulation system. We simulated the flow in the chamber by FLUENT and found that micro-rotation flow was generated when the chamber height was four times greater than the channel height. The rotation flow was experimentally observed using fluorescent microbeads with the newly designed micro-chamber. The proposed MEMS-based 3D-spheroids formation platform is readily to create a technological innovation in biology as a bridge between cell researches and tissue researches.