On-chip differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells into adipocytes

A microfluidic chip was designed to produce with four different cell densities after seeding has been fabricated by soft lithography. It consists of eight parallel chambers with a single inlet and a single outlet. Each chamber was divided into four compartments, separated by a row of pillars. Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) were first grown on-chip using a normal culture medium for one day. Then, the differentiation of hMSCs into adipocytes was successfully induced by the perfusion of a differentiation medium for 14 days. The results showed that the differentiation rate of hMSCs in the chip critically depends on the initial cell density. Typically, with the increase of the cell density from 800 to 5000 cells/cm(2), the differentiation rate increases from 21% to 41%. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.