Polyester μ-Assay chip for Stem Cell Culture and Differentiation

We report the development and application of a polyester chip for studies of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). The chip was fabricated by ablating two stacked polyester films using a CO2 laser. The bottom polyester film contained a 10x10 array of conical microwells for cell trapping and culture, while the top film contained a series of fluidic channels superposed onto the wells. This top fluidic layer was designed for continuous perfusion of the cells, as well as for delivery of different growth and differentiation factors to the cells. These fluidic channels were also designed to generate via diffusion exponential and sigmoidal concentration gradients of the perfusing solutions.