Microfluidics for Cell Microscopy

Microfluidics for Animal Cell Microscopy: (Adherent & Non-Adherent)

The ONIX™ system was designed in collaboration with top research labs around the world to meet the growing technological demands for cellular systems biology research. The major advantages of the ONIX™ are listed below.

Flow Switching

The ONIX™ was designed to enable time-lapsed media exchange experiments. Unlike currently used methods, microfluidics technology allows flow control on the same scale as your cells of interest. The result is better control of the cell environment leading to more precise experimental data. Learn more about dynamic flows.


Nanoliter dead volume. The fluid switch is integrated into the microfluidic channels, with an effective dead volume of 10 nanoliters. This allows rapid fluid exchange at small flow rates.	Cell Protection Barrier. The flow channel is separated from the cell culture area by a proprietary porous barrier. This allows rapid medium exchange without subjecting the cells to high shear stress.	Laminar Flow Mechanics. The properties of the microfluidic channels ensures that fluid particles will be well behaved and predictable, leading to a more precise flow profile.

Non-Adherent Cell Imaging

In addition to adherent cell culture and imaging, the design of the microfluidic chambers uniquely enables time lapse imaging of non-adherent cells during media exchange. This is possible due to the microfluidic perfusion barrier design, which takes advantage of laminar flow properties at sub-nanoliter volumes. This allows media exchange to occur on the time scale of one minute, with a shear force well below the threshold needed to displace the cells.

Improved Quantitative Imaging
Fluorescence microscopy is emerging as the preferred method for live cell research. In order to achieve optimum image quality, the CellASIC chambers are designed with: #1 thickness glass coverslide specially formulated for cell culture 40 micron image plane rejects background fluorescence Optically clear materials with no autofluorescence 8 parallel flow units for multiplexed analysis

Kinetic Response Analysis

No other system gives such precise dynamic flow control during time lapse imaging! If your goal is to perform kinetic response experiments on live cells, this is the ideal system for your research. Key advantages include:

Solution switching on the time scale of seconds
Reduced reagent consumption-- 300 ul will last 48 hours!
Eliminate bulky and expensive syringe and peristaltic pump systems
Compare up to 8 experiment conditions in parallel

Ease of Operation

Your time is valuable. Unlike typical flow cells or "home-made" microfluidics, there is no tedious setup involved. Additionally, the ability to multiplex experiments further improves efficiency. Therefore, the ONIX™ platform is ideal for researchers who want to maximize their data quality while minimizing time and labor expense. This is achieved via:

Innovative cell culture approach as easy as "pipet and image "
Begin flow switching experiments in 10 minutes
Flexibility of flow control for any live cell imaging experiment

Find out more about CellASIC Microfluidic Plates

Find out more about the Flow Control System

See Frequently Asked Questions