As such, carefully controlling the oxygen concentrations in stem cell populations in vitro is essential http://www.selleckchem.com/products/epz-5676.html for controlling the cells�� differentiation and maintaining undifferentiated populations [9]. In regenerative medicine, the transplantation of new stem cells may be used to replace cells which have been lost Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries through disease or injury. Understanding the dynamic oxygen conditions during normal tissue development will be necessary to control differentiation or apoptosis of stem cells. Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells, which may be used for the treatment of demyelinating diseases, should be initially cultured in 5% O2 and then differentiated in 20% O2 for increased cell production [10]. These conditions should be reproduced in the production of cells for replacement therapies.

Because of the profound effect oxygen has on biological systems, controlling and monitoring oxygen concentrations is useful in many cell culture applications. Consequently, Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries there has been much interest in the development of inexpensive oxygen sensors and control mechanisms that can be easily integrated with cell culture environments. In addition to the simple oxygen-sensing application, oxygen sensors can also be adapted for the measurement of glucose concentrations Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries through the addition of glucose oxidase, which allows glucose levels to be determined from oxygen levels because an amount of oxygen dependent on the glucose concentration is consumed in the oxidation of glucose by glucose oxidase [11�C14]; this further increases the applicability of oxygen sensors.1.2.

Microfluidics for Cell Culture and Cell-Based StudiesMicrofluidics involves sub-millimeter-scale fluidic channels and their application to a wide variety of Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries problems in biology, chemistry, and other areas. The small size-scale of microfluidic channels yields a number of advantages over the traditional methods used in these areas. The small fluidic volumes lead to lower reagent costs [15]. Furthermore, the microfluidic chips themselves are often fabricated from inexpensive Cilengitide polymers [16,17] and can also be mass-produced. The small fluidic volumes also reduce the time it takes for reactions to be carried out and afford reduced heat transfer times [18].The application of microfluidics to cell-based research appears to be particularly promising.

neverless Microtechnology has been used to fabricate structures for almost every step in the cell research process: cell acquisition; cell culture, trapping, and sorting; cell treatment; and finally analysis [19,20]. Microfabrication and microfluidics are ideal for working with cells as the structures present within them are on the same size scale as the cells themselves [19]. This size compatibility facilitates greater control over the cells�� position and the cell culture environment.