Small airway-on-a-chip platform
Project no. 21686 · Status: Kapanmış · 2020
Summary
Microfluidic-based organ-on-a-chip systems, defined as miniature versions of macro-scale devices, can mimic the biological activities, mechanical properties and biochemical functions of a living organ, enable complex cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions to be studied better than traditional cell culture methods and offers a new perspective on 3D cell culture models. Although current studies on organ-on-a-chip systems, which are based on microfluidic technology that can successfully mimic the micro-physiological environment of the organs, are increasing rapidly, there are a limited number of systems that focus on real-time physiological analysis and imaging for monitoring organ-specific disease processes, the effects of biological and chemical molecules on cell/tissue, or preclinical cytotoxicity assessments of drugs. In this study, a microfluidic-based small airway-on-chip platform was designed. A hydrogel-based gelatin-methacrylate (GelMA) layer containing epithelial cells and fibroblast cells was used in the model, in which the air/liquid interface and the interstitial region in the lungs were emulated. As for the mimicking of the vascular border, bacterial cellulose-based membrane was produced instead of polyester membrane (PET), which is frequently seen in the literature, and was used together with endothelial cells in the system. In addition, real-time analysis, which is critical in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, drug development and optimization studies, was provided by the optical sensor integrated into the current small airway-on-chip model.