Microfluidic devices and methods for perfusing a cell with perfusion fluid are provided herein, wherein the gravitational forces acting on the cell to keep the cell at or near a retainer or a retaining position exceed the hydrodynamic forces acting on the cell to move it toward an outlet.
Claim CLM-00001. 1. A method of culturing a cell, the method comprising:
retaining the cell at a retaining position within an individual chamber of a microfabricated device; perfusing the cell with a perfusion fluid by flowing the perfusion fluid into the individual chamber through an inlet and out of the chamber through an outlet, wherein the outlet is positioned such that gravitational forces acting on the cell to keep it at or near the retaining position exceed hydrodynamic forces acting on the cell to move it toward the outlet; culturing the cell within the chamber and monitoring a response in the chamber; and selectively recovering the cell or a clonal population thereof from the individual chamber based on the response in the monitoring step.
