Live cell flattening — traditional and novel approaches

PMC Biophysics

Table 1 Comparison of the cell flattening devices

Name	Control of Flattening	Control of Environment	Construction Time
Agar overlay	no direct control¹	no	< 1 hour
Oil overlay	no direct control¹	no	< 1 hour
Single layer	via syringe pump	yes²	2-3 hours³
Closed-end actuator	via actuation channel	yes (lower channel)	> 3 hours³
Through-flow actuator	via actuation channel	yes (lower channel)	2-3 hours³

Comparison of devices for eukaryotic cell flattening. Remarks: ¹Indirect control via the removal of liquid below the overlayer. ²The syringe pump by which the collapse of the ceiling is controlled, might also be used to suck in nutrients or drugs. ³The time estimate takes only the assembling of microfluidic channels into account. The chrome mask generation, patterning of the Si-wafer, and the following molding of the PDMS take more than a day.