1. RESULTS
Demonstrate Quantification of Cell
Movement
Comparing images, the distance of the
leading cell in each channel from the cell
reservoir was measured (Figure 3).
 No cell response observed in standard
media.
 Some migration observed in cells with
conditioned media (Figure 4).
 Highest migration observed with the
reagent side containing conditioned media.
Results indicated that the media conditioned
with SaOs-2 acted as a chemoattractant
(Figure 5).
sylvia.loh@mavs.uta.edu
ABSTRACT
Monitoring the migration of cancer cells,
metastasis can be better understood using
microfluidics.
 Metastasis of cancer is organ specific:
 Prostate cancer moves to the bone
and lungs.
 Breast cancer moves to the bone.
In this work, we assess the impact of
conditioned media on cell migration as a
model for metastasis of cancer.
INTRODUCTION
The American Cancer Society estimated:
 1 in 6 men will develop prostate
cancer.
 1 in 8 women will develop breast
cancer.
Microfluidics provide a(n):
 Ability to monitor cells.
 Accurate quantification of cell migration.
 Microenvironment for precise gradients.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
 Fabricated with poly-dimethylsiloxane
(PDMS).
 Consisted of a cell and a reagent
reservoir.
 Ten microchannels (10 μm in height, 25
μm in width and 1,000 μm in length)
connected the reservoirs.
 Contained 32 devices (Figure 1).
EXPERIMENT SETTING
 Prostate cancer (PC-3) cells were
transfected with green fluorescent
protein (Figure 2).
 The cells were cultured with standard
RPMI or conditioned media from SaOs-2
cells.
 Cells were seeded in cell reservoir at
3×103 in 50 μL of media and incubated.
 Equal volume of reagent was added to
the other reservoir.
 Images were captured at designated 24
hour intervals using a Nikon Ti Eclipse
microscope.
Microfluidics: An innovative approach in Monitoring Cancer Metastasis
Sylvia Loh, Junior, Biology/Bioengineering
Advisors: Smitha Rao and J. –C. Chiao
SUMMARY
Microfluidic Devices for Cell Migration
 Physical confinement to cells at a micro-
scale level for the movement.
 Controllable microenvironment for
chemogradients, time, and temperature.
 Allows recovery of cells for downstream
analyses.
 Validating the results and collecting
quantitative data.
 Work in Progress.
Figure 1: Microfluidic device mounted on a culture plate
A B C D
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by National
Institutes of Health (NIH) National Cancer
Institute grant R15CA133623, North Texas
Cancer Research Foundation and TxMRC.
Figure 2: PC3 cells transfected with GFP (green
fluorescent protein) in a cell reservoir under Brightfield
microscope and ultraviolet light
Brightfield UV
Figure 4: Microchannels containing cells with
conditioned media, showing migration
Figure 5: Measurement of migration of PC-3 cells with
and without SaOs-2 conditioned media against
standard media or SaOs-2 conditioned media
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Media vs.
Media
Media vs.
Conditioned
Conditioned
vs. Media
Conditioned
vs.
Conditioned
Migrationdistance(μm)
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Figure 3: Migration of a PC-3 cell in RPMI in a single
channel over a 5 day period with SaOs2 conditioned
media as attraction
Day 1 - 31.39 μm
Day 2 - 203.16 μm
Day 3 - 283.51 μm
Day 4 - 285.37 μm
Day 5 - 290.05 μm