Membrane-free blood-tissue barriers
October 2023
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA
Typical barrier-type organs-on-a-chip rely upon microperforated membranes, which limits both, the ease of fabrication and the desired barrier performance. This study describes the engineering of a blood-tissue interface (BTI)-on-a-chip (BTI Chip) that exhibits a single layer, membrane-free design.
Therefore, a UV-polymerizable biomaterial composite was used for in situ fabrication of a tissue structure within a Y-shaped microfluidic device. To produce the BTI, the photocurable precursor solution was run through the device alongside phosphate buffered saline. Consequently, the scaffold was polymerized with UV light. Afterwards, blood vessel endothelial cells were introduced and allowed to adhere directly to the 3D tissue scaffold. Fabrication of the BTI Chip was demonstrated in an epithelial tissue model, where scaffolds were seeded with human dermal fibroblasts. Moreover, a blood-brain-barrier model was created.
The BTI Chips will enable drug candidate screening and fundamental biological investigations.
Simple design for membrane-free microphysiological systems to model the blood-tissue barriers
Michael Daniele
Added on: 12-04-2023
[1] https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.20.563328v1
