Local Removal Technique of Microbubbles In Microfluidic Device Through Pdms Thin Wall for Tissue Culture

Microfluidic technology for culture of cancer tissues is helpful to study drug resistance of cancer. However, microbubbles (MBs) often appeared in microfluidic devices during tissue culture, and may damage cells. A technique to remove MBs in microfluidic devices by applying negative pressure has been reported, whereas the negative pressure affects in the entire microfluidic device. We developed a local removal technique of MBs in a microfluidic device by adjusting local pressure with negative and atmospheric pressures through polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) structures. Using the local removal technique, MBs were successfully removed only at the inlet close to a negative-pressurized chamber.