Compartmentalized Primary Murine Neuron Culture Using Plastic Microfluidic Chips

Source: Nagendran, T., et al. Use of Pre-Assembled Plastic Microfluidic Chips for Compartmentalizing Primary Murine Neurons. J. Vis. Exp. (2018). This video demonstrates the utilization of a pre-assembled plastic microfluidic chip for the compartmentalized culture of primary rat hippocampal neurons. The neurons are plated into one of the microfluidic compartments, where they attach and grow, extending their axons through the chip's microgrooves into the adjacent compartment. The narrow microgrooves prevent neuronal cell bodies from entering, thereby enabling physical separation between the somatic and axonal compartments.