Microfluidic assessment of mechanical cell damage by extensional stress.

Mammalian cells have been widely used in bioreactors to produce biological products such as pharmaceutical materials. The productivity of such bioreactors is vastly affected by flow-induced cell damage in complicated flow environments, such as agitation-driven turbulence and oxygen bubble bursting at the interface between the culturing medium and air. However, there is no systematic approach to diagnose the cell damage caused by the hydrodynamic stress.