ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To develop a microfluidic mammalian cell culture device with human breast cancer cells co-cultured with extracellular matrix (ECM), reconstitute the 3-dimension human body microenvironment and preliminarily conduct drug screening on the breast cancer chip. METHODS: 3D Printing technology was utilized to build a two-layer microchip with cell culture reservoirs. The breast cancer cells (MCF7) were cultured in the matrix gel structure which mimiced the 3-dimension human body microenvironment. The cell toxicity of paclitaxel (PTX) on MCF7 cells was preliminarily observed using this microfluidic chip. With the use of AO/EB immunofluorescent staining and laser confocal microscopy, the cell death ratio induced by PTX was determined and compared with that determined by 2-dimension drug screening methods. RESULTS: MCF7 cells cultured on the chip successfully formed a 3D cavity structure in the matrix after 6-day dynamic incubation. The flow rate was 10 μL · h-1. After 24 h dynamic culture, the culture medium was changed to culture solution containing 0.02 μmol · mL-1 PTX, and the incubation was continued for 24 h. Obvious cell death was detected under laser confocal microscopy. CONCLUSION: The microfluidic chip developed in this study can successfully culture breast cancer cells in 3-dimension structure and perform drug screening, which lays a foundation for actualization of "human-on-a-chip".