A microfluidic device for spatiotemporal delivery of stimuli to cells

Living cells encounter many stimuli from the immediate environment. Receptors recognize these environmental cues and transduce signals to produce cell responses. The frequency of a signal is now emerging as an important factor determining cell responses. As a componentry system in understanding temporal stimulation, microfluidic devices allow the observation of cell behaviour under dynamic stimulation and controllable environment. In this paper we describe the design, construction and characterization of a microfluidic device suitable for cell stimulation studies.