Development of Microfluidic Lab-on-Chip System for Cultivation of Cells and Tissues

Abstract

Lab-on-chip systems are microfluidic devices that can be used as powerful tools for research in fields of molecular biology and bioengineering. Novel chip systems such as miniaturized microfluidic human tissue and organ models are powerful platforms to ex vivo study functional units of any important biological and physiological parameters of their in vivo counterparts. Also, development of microfluidic system with mathematical modeling described fluid dynamics in a chip can be used in real-time monitoring of the transport, efficacy, and cytotoxicity of potential drugs on the same platform. We have developed a Chip system that is suitable for cultivation of cells or primitive tissues. The sandwich chip design is composed of acrylic plates - material that is transparent for easy optical following of cells growing. It is manufactured by milling processes performed on in-house developed 3D CNC router – 3D CNC milling machine and by the FDM 3D printing process on Creality 3D CR-10max printer. The main components are: i) bottom plate with cylindrical main chamber for cells growing and two supplying channels; ii) top plate with other half of the channel as well as two holes for tubing fittings. Connection of Chip to a peristaltic pump gives a microfluidic system physiologically relevant microenvironment for cell growth. Fluidic control mimics conditions in real in vivo systems and leads to successful cell proliferation. In near future, organ-on-chip systems promise to be powerful platforms for ex vivo studies of functional units of some organs, for specific biological processes, for examination of tumor with its microenvironment. Also, these small devices can be used for personalized/precision medicine and drug screening for direct treatment decision-making. The chip model that we developed can be used for successful growth of cells or smaller tissues in conditions as suitable as in a living system.