Droplet Microfluidics for 3D Epithelial Cell Culture

We have developed a microfluidic system which delivers highly-controlled conditions for the seeding and growth of polarized cellular spheres, or acini, within matrigel beads. We use high-throughput flow handling to change culture conditions and to move acini through flow-analysis devices on an acini-by-acini basis. Using these optimized parameters we can now design RNAi screens that will identify genes important for the regulation of acini formation in a 3D environment.