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. 2023 Feb 28;7(1):011502. doi: 10.1063/5.0126541

FIG. 4.

FIG. 4.

Physiological effects of hydrodynamics in microchips. (a) Fluorescence image showing the distribution of GFP-tagged E. coli (green) on a corrugated topography exposed to fluid flow. The variation of shear causes higher cellular attachment at the leeward face of the protrusions. Adapted from Secchi et al., Nat. Commun. 11, 2851 (2020). Copyright 2020 Authors, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.84 (b) Images of S. aureus biofilms in a complex topography in a microfluidic channel. The presence of fluidic streams washes away the signaling molecules, allowing the quorum sensing (QS) to occur mostly within the crevices (red shows QS-off cells). Adapted with permission from Kim et al., Nat. Microbiol. 1, 15005 (2016). Copyright 2016 Springer Nature.85 (c) Fluorescence images of Caco-2 tissue in a microfluidic channel upon exposure to dynamic flow and in a static culture, both after 8 days of culture. The fluidic shear promotes the expression of F-actin (green), the filamentous structural support for microvilli, and a 3D morphology resembling in vivo tissue undulations (compare the side views). Adapted with permission from Fois et al., Biomed. Microdevices 23(4), 55 (2021). Copyright 2021 Authors, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.82 (d) Side-view images of epithelial cells upon exposure to flow for 3 days and static Transwell after 21 days. The tissue is stained with MUC-2 antibody (green), actin (red), and 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) (blue). The flow condition causes faster morphogenesis and higher mucin secretion. Adapted with permission from Chi et al., Biomed. Microdevices 17(3), 9966 (2015). Copyright 2015 Springer Nature.109 (e) Top-view images of the epithelium illustrating the effect of apical and basolateral flow in the morphogenesis of the cultured epithelial cells. A parallel flow on both sides of the epithelium (or at least the bottom channel) is needed to induce undulating tissue morphology. Adapted with permission from Shin et al., iScience 15, 391 (2019). Copyright 2019 Elsevier108 (top sketches show the side-views of the device configuration).