Figure 1
From: Cell-cell communication enhances bacterial chemotaxis toward external attractants
Dynamic gradient inside the microfluidic chambers. (a) Partial layout of the microfluidic device. The microfluidic device contains eleven consecutive microchambers that are connected to the main channel (400 μm wide) through a 5 μm-wide and 40 μm-long inlet channel. The microchambers are 1 mm wide and 1 mm long (excluding the nook area) and contain various patterns of evenly distributed micropillars. Only results obtained in the highlighted chamber, in which the micropillars are 50 μm long and 50 μm wide and the space between micropillars is 50 μm, are reported in this study. The depth of all the microchambers and channels is ~10 μm. (b) The gradient profiles along the red line marked in the inserted image at various times after the start of flow in the main channel are shown. The microchamber was first filled with (non-fluorescent) M9-G medium containing 10 µM aspartate and YFP-expressing E. coli cells; M9-G containing 10 µg/mL Alexa Fluor®568 was then pumped into the main channel at a flow rate of 5 μL/min. (c) Reproducibility of the gradient profile from three independent experiments and devices is shown at the 10 min time point (other time points show similar reproducibility).
