Figure 7. Chromatin degradation in the microfluidic network under flow.
A) In control experiments, blood was infused at a constant rate of 0.3 μl/minute for 30 minutes. In separate experiments, DNase was incubated with the devices at 37°C, for 30 minutes, followed by the injection of blood. The area covered by chromatin was analyzed 5, 10, 20 and 30 min after initiation of treatment. After 30 minutes, only 10.4 ± 10% of original chromatin was still present, significantly less than the whole blood control (N=6, p<0.05). B) The area with no RBC flow behind the chromatin decreased to approximately one third of the initial area and 8 ± 0.6% of the total network area.