Electrofluidic pressure sensor embedded microfluidic device: a study of endothelial cells under hydrostatic pressure and shear stress combinations
Electrofluidic pressure sensor embedded microfluidic device: a study of endothelial cells under hydrostatic pressure and shear stress combinations
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DOI：
10.1039/c3lc41414k
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发表时间：
2013-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
6.1
通讯作者：
Tung, Yi-Chung
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Liu, Man-Chi;Shih, Hsiu-Chen;Tung, Yi-Chung
已经开发了各种微流体细胞培养装置用于体外细胞研究，因为它们能够重建体内微环境。然而，由于生物样品的各种流体性质，控制微流体装置中的流动并不简单。目前，流动观测主要依赖于光学成像和宏观尺度传感器，这通常需要复杂的仪器，并且难以按比例放大。在没有真实的实时监测的情况下，流动的控制只能依靠理论计算和数值模拟。因此，这些装置难以在生物研究中被广泛利用。本文报道了一种微流控装置与嵌入式压力传感器构建使用电流体电路，这是由充满离子液体的流体通道构建的电路。开发了在各种剪切应力和静水压力组合下培养内皮细胞的微流体装置来证明这一概念。该装置结合了用于压力传感的电流体电路的概念和用于设计细胞培养通道的等效电路模型。在实验中，人脐静脉内皮细胞（HUVECs）在具有连续介质灌注的装置中培养，其提供组合机械刺激，同时真实的时间监测流体静压以确保所需的培养条件。实验结果证明了真实的时间压力监测的重要性，以及两种机械刺激如何影响HUVEC培养。这种开发的微流控装置简单，坚固，并且可以很容易地扩大规模进行高通量实验。此外，该装置为在良好控制和动态微环境下的体外细胞培养提供了实用平台。
Various microfluidic cell culture devices have been developed for in vitro cell studies because of their capabilities to reconstitute in vivo microenvironments. However, controlling flows in microfluidic devices is not straightforward due to the wide varieties of fluidic properties of biological samples. Currently, flow observations mainly depend on optical imaging and macro scale transducers, which usually require sophisticated instrumentation and are difficult to scale up. Without real time monitoring, the control of flows can only rely on theoretical calculations and numerical simulations. Consequently, these devices have difficulty in being broadly exploited in biological research. This paper reports a microfluidic device with embedded pressure sensors constructed using electrofluidic circuits, which are electrical circuits built by fluidic channels filled with ionic liquid. A microfluidic device culturing endothelial cells under various shear stress and hydrostatic pressure combinations is developed to demonstrate this concept. The device combines the concepts of electrofluidic circuits for pressure sensing, and an equivalent circuit model to design the cell culture channels. In the experiments, human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) are cultured in the device with a continuous medium perfusion, which provides the combinatory mechanical stimulations, while the hydrostatic pressures are monitored in real time to ensure the desired culture conditions. The experimental results demonstrate the importance of real time pressure monitoring, and how both mechanical stimulations affect the HUVEC culture. This developed microfluidic device is simple, robust, and can be easily scaled up for high-throughput experiments. Furthermore, the device provides a practical platform for an in vitro cell culture under well-controlled and dynamic microenvironments.