Figure 4.

Microfluidic through-flow actuator. (A) Similar to the closed-end actuator, the cells are contained in the bottom channel. In this case, however, the actuation channel was open ended allowing oxygen to flow through. The oxygen was supplied to the cells via the permeable PDMS membrane which separates the two layers (B). By adjusting the pressure of the oxygen supply at the inlet, this PDMS membrane was deformed and flattened the cells. The angle between both channels was limited by the size of the cover slip. (C) Assembled double layer microfluidic channel with connected tubing. The actuation channel is filled with red and the lower channel with blue dye. (D) Schematic of the pressure regulation of the oxygen flowing through the actuation channel. The manometer measures the pressure applied to the actuation channel.