Cell and Tissue Microdevices

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "B2: Biofabrication and Tissue Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 September 2021) | Viewed by 12319

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
AIST-Osaka University Advanced Photonics and Biosensing Open Innovation Laboratory, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), P3 Bldg.2-1, Photonics Center, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
Interests: cell microarray; microphysiological system; raman spectroscopy; deep learning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

The application of MEMS technology to biology has contributed to a wide range of application from basic biology to clinical applications. In particular, engineering cells and tissues by the development of bio-MEMS technologies have elucidated the fundamentals of cellular behaviour, the mechanisms of cell and tissue assembly, and the conditions of clinical applications in tissue regeneration. Recent development of microfabrication technologies such as complex microfluidic chips, 3D micro- patterning, and 3D lithography leads us to new research areas that have not been challenged before in cell tissue engineering. Research areas such as organoid formation, body on a chip, and microphysiological sysems will be novel challenging fields using these novel MEMS technologies.

This Special Issue invites original articles that introduce recent research developments and emerging trends in cell and tissue microdevices or invites review articles that organize traditional researches as well. Not only developing microdevice itself, but also the basic technology for making microdevice (for example, fabrication technologies and new algorisms for control devices etc.) and application approach (for example, early drug discovery and preclinical studies by using micro-device etc.) are included in the Special Issue.

Dr. Satoshi Fujita
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • MEMS
  • lab on a Chip
  • life on a Chip
  • organ on a chip
  • cell chip
  • cell and tissue assembly
  • micro-patterning

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

15 pages, 2293 KiB  
Article
A Kinetic Pump Integrated Microfluidic Plate (KIM-Plate) with High Usability for Cell Culture-Based Multiorgan Microphysiological Systems
by Kenta Shinha, Wataru Nihei, Hiroko Nakamura, Tomomi Goto, Takumi Kawanishi, Naoki Ishida, Nao Yamazaki, Yuki Imakura, Shinji Mima, Kosuke Inamura, Hiroshi Arakawa, Masaki Nishikawa, Yukio Kato, Yasuyuki Sakai and Hiroshi Kimura
Micromachines 2021, 12(9), 1007; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12091007 - 24 Aug 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4168
Abstract
Microphysiological systems (MPSs), including organ-on-a-chip (OoC), have attracted attention as a novel method for estimating the effects and side effects of drugs in drug discovery. To reproduce the dynamic in vivo environment, previous MPSs were connected to pump systems to perfuse culture medium. [...] Read more.
Microphysiological systems (MPSs), including organ-on-a-chip (OoC), have attracted attention as a novel method for estimating the effects and side effects of drugs in drug discovery. To reproduce the dynamic in vivo environment, previous MPSs were connected to pump systems to perfuse culture medium. Therefore, most MPSs are not user-friendly and have poor throughput. We aimed to develop a kinetic pump integrated microfluidic plate (KIM-Plate) by applying the stirrer-based micropump to an open access culture plate to improve the usability of MPSs. The KIM-Plate integrates six multiorgan MPS (MO-MPS) units and meets the ANSI/SBS microplate standards. We evaluated the perfusion function of the kinetic pump and found that the KIM-Plate had sufficient agitation effect. Coculture experiments with PXB cells and hiPS intestinal cells showed that the TEER of hiPS intestinal cells and gene expression levels related to the metabolism of PXB cells were increased. Hence, the KIM-Plate is an innovative tool for the easy coculture of highly conditioned cells that is expected to facilitate cell-based assays in the fields of drug discovery and biology because of its usability and high throughput nature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cell and Tissue Microdevices)
Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 3382 KiB  
Article
Barrier-on-a-Chip with a Modular Architecture and Integrated Sensors for Real-Time Measurement of Biological Barrier Function
by Patrícia Zoio, Sara Lopes-Ventura and Abel Oliva
Micromachines 2021, 12(7), 816; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12070816 - 12 Jul 2021
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 4311
Abstract
Biological barriers are essential for the maintenance of organ homeostasis and their dysfunction is responsible for many prevalent diseases. Advanced in vitro models of biological barriers have been developed through the combination of 3D cell culture techniques and organ-on-chip (OoC) technology. However, real-time [...] Read more.
Biological barriers are essential for the maintenance of organ homeostasis and their dysfunction is responsible for many prevalent diseases. Advanced in vitro models of biological barriers have been developed through the combination of 3D cell culture techniques and organ-on-chip (OoC) technology. However, real-time monitoring of tissue function inside the OoC devices has been challenging, with most approaches relying on off-chip analysis and imaging techniques. In this study, we designed and fabricated a low-cost barrier-on-chip (BoC) device with integrated electrodes for the development and real-time monitoring of biological barriers. The integrated electrodes were used to measure transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) during tissue culture, thereby quantitatively evaluating tissue barrier function. A finite element analysis was performed to study the sensitivity of the integrated electrodes and to compare them with conventional systems. As proof-of-concept, a full-thickness human skin model (FTSm) was grown on the developed BoC, and TEER was measured on-chip during the culture. After 14 days of culture, the barrier tissue was challenged with a benchmark irritant and its impact was evaluated on-chip through TEER measurements. The developed BoC with an integrated sensing capability represents a promising tool for real-time assessment of barrier function in the context of drug testing and disease modelling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cell and Tissue Microdevices)
Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 7004 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of the Effects of Solvents Used in the Fabrication of Microfluidic Devices on Cell Cultures
by Xiaopeng Wen, Seiichiro Takahashi, Kenji Hatakeyama and Ken-ichiro Kamei
Micromachines 2021, 12(5), 550; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12050550 - 12 May 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3133
Abstract
Microfluidic microphysiological systems (MPSs) or “organs-on-a-chip” are a promising alternative to animal models for drug screening and toxicology tests. However, most microfluidic devices employ polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as the structural material; and this has several drawbacks. Cyclo-olefin polymers (COPs) are more advantageous than PDMS [...] Read more.
Microfluidic microphysiological systems (MPSs) or “organs-on-a-chip” are a promising alternative to animal models for drug screening and toxicology tests. However, most microfluidic devices employ polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as the structural material; and this has several drawbacks. Cyclo-olefin polymers (COPs) are more advantageous than PDMS and other thermoplastic materials because of their low drug absorption and autofluorescence. However, most COP-based microfluidic devices are fabricated by solvent bonding of the constituent parts. Notably, the remnant solvent can affect the cultured cells. This study employed a photobonding process with vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) light to fabricate microfluidic devices without using any solvent and compared their performance with that of solvent-bonded systems (using cyclohexane, dichloromethane, or toluene as the solvent) to investigate the effects of residual solvent on cell cultures. Quantitative immunofluorescence assays indicated that the coating efficiencies of extracellular matrix proteins (e.g., Matrigel and collagen I) were lower in solvent-bonded COP devices than those in VUV-bonded devices. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity of the systems was evaluated using SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells, and increased apoptosis was observed in the solvent-processed devices. These results provide insights into the effects of solvents used during the fabrication of microfluidic devices and can help prevent undesirable reactions and establish good manufacturing practices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cell and Tissue Microdevices)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop