A user-friendly scalable microfluidic platform for enhanced neuron-cell culture

 描述(申请人提供)：神经元细胞培养广泛用于基础研究、药物发现和毒性测试的研究。传统的神经细胞培养方法会导致突起的随机生长，这阻碍了对其独特的极化形态的研究。我们的目标是提供强大、用户友好和成本效益高的培养平台，以操纵和访问神经元及其亚细胞室(轴突、细胞体和树突)。通过销售我们团队开发并获得专利的原型平台获得的数据显示，需求巨大且不断增长。由于神经元独特的形态和在体神经元操纵和研究的难度，该平台迅速成为基于细胞的实验神经科学的重要工具。这些平台与高分辨率显微镜兼容，允许对轴突进行操纵和生化分析。这些原型平台目前是使用光学透明聚合物对使用光刻图案化的母模进行复制模塑。在第一阶段，我们开发了一种新的制造策略，使我们能够提供更均匀的设备，并通过消除对聚合物的切割或冲孔来显著降低废品率。这一二期项目将首先专注于扩大这一制造战略，以承担我们平台的大规模制造。根据客户的反馈，我们还确定了对预组装设备、针对人类干细胞衍生神经元优化的设备以及适用于突触研究的设备的未满足需求。在这个第二阶段项目中，我们将利用我们在第一阶段筹资期间获得的可行性数据，进一步专注于这些新设备。这些设备的未来商业化将使新的实验范式在科学上惠及神经科学研究和测试界。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Neuron-cell culture is widely used for studies in basic research, drug discovery, and toxicity testing. Traditional neuron-cell culture approaches result in random growth of processes which prevent the study of their unique polarized morphology. Our goal is to provide robust, user-friendly, and cost effective culture platforms to manipulate and access neurons and their subcellular compartments (axons, cell body and dendrites). Data acquired through sales of prototype platforms developed and patented by our team show a large and increasing demand. Because of the unique morphology of neurons and the difficulty in manipulating and studying neurons in vivo, this platform has rapidly become an important tool for cell-based experimental neuroscience. These platforms are compatible with high resolution microscopy and allow axons to be manipulated and biochemically analyzed. These prototype platforms are currently replica molded using an optically transparent polymer against master-molds that are patterned using photolithography. In Phase I we developed a new fabrication strategy that will allow us to provide devices that are more uniform and significantly reduce our scrap rate by eliminating cutting or punching of the polymer. This Phase II project will first focu on expanding this fabrication strategy to undertake large-scale manufacturing of our platform. Based on customer feedback we also identified unmet needs for preassembled devices, devices optimized for human stem cell-derived neurons, and devices amenable to the investigation of synapses. In this Phase II project we will further focus on these new devices using our feasibility data obtained during the Phase I funding period. The future commercialization of these devices will scientifically benefit the neuroscience research and testing community by enabling new experimental paradigms.