Microfluidic Platforms for the Investigation of Intercellular Signalling Mechanisms |
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Authors: | Sofia Nahavandi Shi‐Yang Tang Sara Baratchi Rebecca Soffe Saeid Nahavandi Kourosh Kalantar‐zadeh Arnan Mitchell Khashayar Khoshmanesh |
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Affiliation: | 1. Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry, & Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, , VIC 3010 Australia;2. School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, RMIT University, , VIC 3001 Australia;3. Health Innovations Research Institute, RMIT University, , VIC 3083 Australia;4. Centre for Intelligent Systems Research, Deakin University, , VIC 3216 Australia |
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Abstract: | Intercellular signalling has been identified as a highly complex process, responsible for orchestrating many physiological functions. While conventional methods of investigation have been useful, their limitations are impeding further development. Microfluidics offers an opportunity to overcome some of these limitations. Most notably, microfluidic systems can emulate the in‐vivo environments. Further, they enable exceptionally precise control of the microenvironment, allowing complex mechanisms to be selectively isolated and studied in detail. There has thus been a growing adoption of microfluidic platforms for investigation of cell signalling mechanisms. This review provides an overview of the different signalling mechanisms and discusses the methods used to study them, with a focus on the microfluidic devices developed for this purpose. |
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Keywords: | cell signalling microfluidics cellular assays signalling mechanisms |
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