Pumping of mammalian cells with a nozzle-diffuser micropump

We discuss the successful transport of jurkat cells and 5D10 hybridoma cells using a reciprocating micropump with nozzle-diffuser elements. The effect of the pumping action on cell viability and proliferation, as well as on the damaging of cellular membranes is quantified using four types of well-established biological tests: a trypan blue solution, the tetrazolium salt WST-1 reagent, the LDH cytotoxicity assay and the calcium imaging ATP test. The high viability levels obtained after pumping, even for the most sensitive cells (5D10), indicate that a micropump with nozzle-diffuser elements can be very appropriate for handling living cells in cell-on-a-chip applications.