Boyden chamber

The Boyden chamber is a useful tool to study cell migration and cell invasion. It consists of a cylindrical cell culture insert nested inside the well of a cell culture plate. The insert contains a polycarbonate membrane at the bottom with a defined pore size.

Cells are seeded in the top of the insert in serum-free media, while serum or similar chemoattractants are placed in the well below. Migratory cells move through the pores toward the chemoattractant below and can be stained or quantified in a plate reader. Invasive cells may be similarly measured by the placement of a coating of extracellular matrix proteins on top of the membrane.