Applications: Microfluidic Microscopes and Co-Culture Complexity

Etaluma’s Microfluidic Microscope Imaging

From one of our favorite labs—Mark Allenby and the team at the BMSE Lab at University of Queensland—a new paper that really hits the sweet spot of biology and bioengineering. They’ve pulled off something tricky: reproducible formation of microvascular networks and adipocyte differentiation, in the same 3D hydrogel co-culture, using immortalized human cells. That’s a big deal.

It’s all built around a clever microfluidic design that creates counter-current gradients of vasculogenic and adipogenic cues. The result? Vessel networks that don’t just form, but stick around long enough to matter. Adipogenesis that doesn’t need a dozen differentiation steps. And enough live-cell imaging to make our microscopy hearts happy.

Speaking of which—this all comes with some very nice time-lapse footage captured on the Etaluma LS720 (LS820 is our latest model).

At a 1:5 seeding ratio, you get networks that hold together through 7 days of culture. Higher ratios (2:1, 1:1) formed quickly but lifted off the plate. Lower ratios like 1:2 and 1:10 stuck around and produced stable, branching networks.

The microfluidic microscopy setup really shines here—not just for imaging, but for enabling spatiotemporal control over growth environments. It’s hard to model adipo-vascular crosstalk without the right gradients. This system nails it, with lipid coverage hitting 67% in co-culture, versus less than 2% in monoculture.

Super cool work. Full paper here: Murphy, Franco, and Allenby – https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/smll.202501834