Abstract
This study describes a cell-culture systemallowing culture cells to be exposed to an oxygen gradient condition, which was created with the diffusion of PDMS (Polydimethylsiloxane) from a micro channel at the bottom of a bleeding ground for cell culture. Hypoxia culture condition of tissue and stem cells have recently attracted attentions for formingtissue structure, imitatinghuman body, and analyzingthe differentiation of stem cells. The system composed of an oxygen gradient PDMS-chamber made with a micro-fabrication technology, and a hypoxia desiccator realized an oxygen density gradient from 0 to 159 mmHg in the surface of the chamber. Cells in the hypoxia region of chamber were stained with pimonidasole, a hypoxia marker, which was confirmed by an immunofluorescent technique. The proposed oxygen gradient system was able to be readily applicable to efficient and precise studies investigating of the tissue function or differentiation of stem cell.
