Analysis of chemotactic activity of mammalian cells in a microfluidic device

Local concentration patterns of certain compounds can direct the migration of animal cells and bacteria. This phenomenon is called chemotaxis. The analysis of chemotactic activity is a valuable diagnostic approach for the characterization of immune or tumour cells. Present assay formats are either time consuming or difficult to perform. We present a microfluidic device that allows fast and efficient analysis of the chemotactic activity of cells. Our approach is fully compatible with high-resolution optical microscopy and hence provides access to intracellular processes that may serve as early indicators of directed migration.