Generation of perpendicular chemical and oxygen gradients for cell culture in a microfluidic device

Microfluidics is a field that utilizes channels on the micrometer scale to control minute fluid quantities with great spatiotemporal resolutions. Oxygen and chemical gradients are often used in microfluidic devices to observe aero-taxis and chemo-taxis of the seeded cells of interest. A microfluidic device that displays chemical and oxygen gradients perpendicular to each other in an X- to Y-axis fashion, thus allowing for simultaneous reading of the two gradients, is here developed. This paper focuses upon the construction and calibration of the device, as well as its cell-culturing compatibilities. When cells are seeded into the device, a chemical gradient and oxygen gradient can be created in combination, allowing concurrent observation of the respective concentrations to which cells migrate.