Real-time measurement of biological barrier function
2021
Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
In this study, a low-cost barrier-on-chip (BoC) device with integrated electrodes for the development and real-time monitoring of biological barriers is designed and fabricated. Integrated electrodes were used to measure transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) during tissue culture, thereby quantitatively evaluating tissue barrier function. As a proof-of-concept, a full-thickness human skin model was grown on the developed BoC. This was achieved by co-culturing primary human fibroblasts and primary human keratinocytes on an inert polymeric scaffold inserted between two perfusion channels. Following skin differentiation and barrier formation, the tissue was challenged with a benchmark irritant and its impact was evaluated on-chip through TEER measurements. The developed BoC represents a promising tool for real-time assessment of barrier function in the context of drug testing and disease modelling. The presented platform is applicable to diverse biological barriers and allows mimicking of tissue–tissue, tissue–liquid and tissue–air interfaces.
Barrier-on-a-chip with a modular architecture and integrated sensors for real-time measurement of biological barrier function
Abel Oliva
Added on: 04-21-2022
[1] https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/12/7/816
