Enhancement of static incubation time in microfluidic cell culture platforms exploiting extended air–liquid interface

Microfluidics based cell culture applications have facilitated the study of cellular dynamics at the single entity level. Yet, long term versions of such applications in a static framework suffer from the fast exhaustion of available oxygen, dissolved in the limited media volume available per cell, within the microconfined environment. In order to circumvent such drawbacks, we have improvised a microfluidic cell culture platform for prolonged sustenance of adherent mammalian cells by formation of an air–liquid interface through functionalizing inner surfaces of a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) based microdevice. We have demonstrated an augmented static incubation time for different cell lines using this approach.