Microfluidic temporal cell stimulation

We present a novel microfluidic platform for probing cellular signaling networks, combining a programmable system for generating arbitrarily complex temporal input stimulant concentration profiles with real-time fluorogenic monitor-ing of cell physiological response. Applying microfluidics to multi-parametric sys-tems biology problems, like the analysis of signal transduction pathways, requires a high level of automation to rigorously control cellular environments and detect output signals. Addressing this challenge, we have developed a Java-based programmable microvalve system for automated control of reagent delivery, ena-bling the end user to generate complex chemical waveforms and perform multiple assays on individually addressable cell chambers on chip