Overview and study focuses of microfluidic-based cell culture systems

Microfluidic platforms are microfabricated tools that are gaining popularity for studying of cellular biology. These platforms can allow precise control of the environment surrounding individual cells and have achieved amazing progress in application to cell culture in recent years. In this paper, we discuss the major characteristics of microfluidic chip and the corresponding advantages for cell culture, review microfluidic cell culture systems that are classified into: (i) micropatterned cell culture on substrate surface; (ii) microchannels cell culture; and, (iii) microchambers cell culture. We also introduce several study focuses of microfluidic cell culture systems.