Abstract

Microfluidics within a Well: Injection-Molded Plastic Array for 3D Culture

Noo Li Jeon, Professor, Seoul National University

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) has been widely used in fabricating microfluidic devices for prototyping and proof-of-concept experiments. Due to several material limitations, PDMS has not been widely adopted for commercial applications that require large-scale production. This presentation will describe a mass-producible Injection-Molded Plastic Array for 3D Culture Tissue (IMPACT) platform that incorporates a novel microfluidic design to integrate patterned 3D cell culture within a single 96-well. Multiple hydrogel patterns can be sequentially assembled by utilizing capillary-guided flow along wedges and narrow gaps designed within the well. The patterning is quick and robust. It is as simple as placing a liquid droplet on any part of the wedge structure to obtain spontaneous patterning within 1 second. Optimal dimensionless parameters required for successful capillary loading have been determined. The IMPACT platform was used to co-culture HUVEC and LF, and to obtain angiogenic sprouts with lumens and tip cells that are comparable to those observed in PDMS based devices. This platform is expected to have a wide range of applications related to biological discovery, tissue engineering and drug screening, and can be used in a variety of scales from lab bench to automated equipment.