A Cell Programmable Assay (CPA) chip

This article describes two kinds of "Cell Programmable Assay'' (CPA) chips that utilize passive pumping for the culture and autonomous staining of cells to simply common protocols. One is a single timer channel CPA (sCPA) chip that has one timer channel and one main channel containing a cell culture chamber. The sCPA is used to culture and stain cells using Hoechst nuclear staining dye (a 2 step staining process). The other is a dual timer channel CPA (dCPA) chip that has two timer channels and one main channel with a chamber for cell culture. The dCPA is used here to culture, fix, permeablize, and stain cells using DAPI. The additional timer channel of the dCPA chip allows for automation of 3 steps. The CPA chips were successfully evaluated using HEK 293 cells. In addition, we provide a simplified equation for tuning or redesigning CPA chips to meet the needs of a variety of protocols that may require different timings. The equation is easy to use as it only depends upon the dimensions of microchannel and the volume of the reagent drops. The sCPA and dCPA chips can be readily modified to apply to a wide variety of common cell culture methods and procedures.