Table 2.
Microfluidics devices and microbioreactors in engineering stem cell niches
| Microfluidic devices and microbioreactors | Stem cell type | Applications | Ref. |
| Gradient-generating microfluidic device | NSC | Proliferation and astrocyte differentiation | [91] |
| MEMS automated microfluidic device | AFSC | Adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation | [92] |
| 3-D hydrogel incorporated microfluidics | NSC | 3-D differentiation into neuronal and oligodendrocyte differentiation | [93] |
| Micro-grooved PDMS sheets with cyclic strain | MSC | MSC proliferation and differentiation | [94] |
| Microfluidic device with logarithmical flow rate | Mouse ESC | ESC adhesion and proliferation | [95] |
| A microfluidic chip which creates arbitrary culture media formulations | MSC | Proliferation, osteogenic | [96] |
| differentiation and motility | |||
| A microscaffold cell chip with precisely controlled microenvironment | Retinal stem cells | Decrease apoptosis during the retinal differentiation | [98,99] |
| Microbioreactor array for 2-D and 3-D hydrogel cultures | Human ESC | Adjust flow rate and evaluate vascular differentiation | [100] |
| Microbioreactor arrays for drug screening | ESC, MSC | Incorporate 3D culture, biomaterials, etc. to screen drugs in a high-throughput manner | [103] |
| Compartmentalizing microfluidic devices | Cancer stem cells | Understanding of cell migration and cancer invasion | [104] |
| Microbioreactor array with 3-D fibrous matrix | Mouse ESC | High-through cell-based assay for drug screening | [14,87,102,106] |
| Microbioreactor array with full factorial design of growth factor combinations | Human ESC | Screening exogenous and paracrine factors in human ESC differentiation into mesoderm cells | [15] |
| Microfluidics with patterning and temporal analysis | PSC | Reveal paracrine/autocrine signaling for PSC self-renewal | [110] |
| Microbioreactor array with 3-D cell culture setting | EBs derived from human ESC or iPSC | PSC mesoderm differentiation, with controlled cytokine gradients. | [101] |
| Microfluidics with varying flow rates | PSC | Reveal paracrine/autocrine signaling during PSC self-renewal | [108,115] |
NSC: Neural stem cells; AFSC: Amniotic fluid stem cells; ESCs: Embryonic stem cells; MSCs: Mesenchymal stem cells; PSC: Pluripotent stem cells; iPSC: Induced pluripotent stem cells; EBs: Embryoid bodies.