Luminal geometries are common structures in biology, which are challenging to mimic using conventional in vitro techniques based on the use of Petri dishes. In this context, microfluidic systems can mimic the lumen geometry, enabling a large variety of studies. However, most microfluidic models still rely on
polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a material that is not amenable for high-throughput fabrication and presents some limitations compared with other materials such as
polystyrene. Thus, we have developed a
microfluidic device array to generate multiple bio-relevant
luminal structures utilizing
polystyrene and micro-milling. This platform offers a scalable alternative to conventional
microfluidic devices designed in PDMS. Additionally, the use of
polystyrene has well described advantages, such as lower permeability to hydrophobic molecules compared with PDMS, while maintaining excellent viability and optical properties.
Breast cancer cells cultured in the devices exhibited high cell viability similar to PDMS-based microdevices. Further, co-culture experiments with different breast cell types showed the potential of the model to study
breast cancer invasion. Finally, we demonstrated the potential of the microfluidic array for drug screening, testing
chemotherapy drugs and
photodynamic therapy agents for
breast cancer.