Patent ID: 8380443

Claim:
A method for identifying one or more agents that modulate leukocyte rolling, adhesion, and/or migration comprising the steps of: a) flowing a suspension of leukocytes from an inlet of an optically transparent microfluidic chip through a plurality of interconnected flow channels to an outlet; b) flowing a solution containing an agent from the inlet of the microfluidic chip through the plurality of interconnected flow channels to the outlet; c) locating and counting leukocytes in the microfluidic chip; and d) based upon the locations and numbers of leukocytes, determining whether the agent is modulating or not modulating leukocyte rolling, adhesion, and/or migration; wherein: said optically transparent microfluidic chip comprises: at least one inlet and at least one outlet; a plurality of non-linear, interconnected flow channels having maximum lumenal cross-sections between walls of the flow channels of between 10 and 500 microns, the plurality of non-linear, interconnected flow channels having a geometric characteristic selected from the group consisting of a variable cross-sectional shape, a variable cross-sectional area, a turn, a bend, a bifurcation, a junction, a convolution, an anastomosis, and combinations thereof; and at least one tissue space chamber having a maximum cross-sectional dimension of between 100 μm and 1 cm; at least a portion of the plurality of interconnected flow channels is porous, said porous portion having pores in the walls of the flow channels with the pores having maximal cross-sections of between 1 and 30 microns; and at least one tissue space chamber separate from the interconnected channels and being in fluid communication with the plurality of interconnected flow channels through the pores of said porous portion.