A robust microfluidic in vitro cell perifusion system.

We present here a robust microfluidic cell perifusion device for in vitro primary tissue cell secretion studies. This system increases the sample concentration to perifusion volume ratio by an order of magnitude compared with standard multi-well plate static incubation assays. Further, this device achieves physiologically relevant flow rates, pressures, and temperature. It has been manufactured with typical machining facilities, principally drilling and milling. No specialist clean room equipment is required to replicate it. We show its capability here with hormone perifusion experiments on primary pancreatic tissue from mice. This device can increase cell secretion concentrations by up to a factor of 20, allowing for the first time the direct measurement of islet glucagon using mass spectrometry.