Laboratory of Advanced Microfluidic Systems

	RESEARCH: ENGINEERED MICROENVIRONMENTS
	Engineered microenvironments aim to recreate the biochemical, mechanical, and architectural features of a cell’s native surroundings, but in controlled, tunable, and often miniaturized formats. This research direction studies how cells behave when placed in customized physical landscapes that mimic aspects of the extracellular matrix, tissue structures, or physiological fluid flows. By tailoring substrate stiffness, topography, matrix composition, or three‑dimensional geometry, these platforms provide powerful tools to probe cell–environment interactions. This area is tightly linked to tissue engineering, mechanobiology, and advanced 3D culture systems. Engineered microenvironments allow researchers to examine how cells sense stiffness gradients, remodel matrices, engage with fibrous networks, or self‑organize into complex structures. They also serve as testbeds for disease modeling, where pathological conditions (e.g., tumor stiffness, fibrotic architecture, or disrupted matrix organization) can be recreated with high fidelity. Recently, the field has expanded to include dynamic and stimuli-responsive environments, where the microenvironment changes over time or responds to cell-driven forces. Such systems provide unprecedented insight into how feedback loops between cells and their physical surroundings drive biological function, adaptation, or dysfunction. Engineered microenvironments thus form a bridge between empirical observation and physiological relevance.		Figure 1. Fabricated microfluidic oxygenator The device consists of two PDMS layers (gas and medium) containing molded microchannels. The multiplexor and O2 gradient generator in contained in the gas layer, while the DO sensors are contained in the medium channels.

Laboratory of Advanced Microfluidic Systems | Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering | City University of Hong Kong
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