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Characterization of microfluidic human epidermal keratinocyte culture

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Abstract

Human epidermal keratinocytes (HEK) are skin cells of primary importance in maintaining the body’s defensive barrier and are used in vitro to assess the irritation potential and toxicity of chemical compounds. Microfluidic systems hold promise for high throughput irritant and toxicity assays, but HEK growth kinetics have yet to be characterized within microscale culture chambers. This research demonstrates HEK patterning on microscale patches of Type I collagen within microfluidic channels and maintenance of these cells under constant medium perfusion for 72 h. HEK were shown to maintain 93.0%–99.6% viability at 72 h under medium perfusion ranging from 0.025–0.4 μl min−1. HEK maintained this viability while ∼100% confluent—a level not possible in 96 well plates. Microscale HEK cultures offer the ability to precisely examine the morphology, behavior and viability of individual cells which may open the door to new discoveries in toxicological screening methods and wound healing techniques.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing and a Society of Toxicology Colgate Palmolive Research Award.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7575, USA

    Adrian T. O’Neill, Nancy A. Monteiro-Riviere & Glenn M. Walker

  2. Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695-7115, USA

    Adrian T. O’Neill, Nancy A. Monteiro-Riviere & Glenn M. Walker

  3. Center for Chemical Toxicology Research and Pharmacokinetics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27606, USA

    Nancy A. Monteiro-Riviere

Authors
  1. Adrian T. O’Neill
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  2. Nancy A. Monteiro-Riviere
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  3. Glenn M. Walker
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Correspondence to Glenn M. Walker.

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O’Neill, A.T., Monteiro-Riviere, N.A. & Walker, G.M. Characterization of microfluidic human epidermal keratinocyte culture. Cytotechnology 56, 197–207 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10616-008-9149-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10616-008-9149-9

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