RESUMEN
The present study examines the use of automated periodic "flow-stop" perfusion systems for long-term culture of mammalian cells in a microchannel bioreactor. The method is used to culture Human Foreskin Fibroblasts (HFF) and Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVEC) for long periods of time (>7 d) in a microchannel (height 100 mum). Design parameters, mass transport and shear stress issues are theoretically examined via numerical simulations. Cell growth and morphology are experimentally monitored and an enhanced growth rate was measured compared to constant perfusion micro-reactors and to traditional culture in Petri dishes. Moreover, we demonstrate the use of the method to co-culture undifferentiated colonies of human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESC) on HFF feeder cells in microchannels. The successful hESC-HFF co-culture in the microbioreactor is achieved due to two vital characteristics of the developed method-short temporal exposure to flow followed by long static incubation periods. The short pulsed exposure to shear enables shear sensitive cells (e.g., hESC) to withstand the medium renewal flow. The long static incubation period may enable secreted factors (e.g., feeder cells secreted factors) to accumulate locally. Thus the developed method may be suitable for long-term culture of sensitive multi-cellular complexes in microsystems.
Asunto(s)
Reactores Biológicos , Técnicas de Cultivo de Célula/instrumentación , Técnicas de Cultivo de Célula/métodos , Células Madre Embrionarias/citología , Técnicas Analíticas Microfluídicas/instrumentación , Técnicas Analíticas Microfluídicas/métodos , Animales , Técnicas de Cocultivo , Células Endoteliales/citología , Fibroblastos/citología , Humanos , Perfusión , Factores de TiempoRESUMEN
Microfluidic bioreactors have been shown valuable for various cellular applications. The use of micro-wells/grooves bioreactors, in which micro-topographical features are used to protect sensitive cells from the detrimental effects of fluidic shear stress, is a promising approach to culture sensitive cells in these perfusion microsystems. However, such devices exhibit substantially different fluid dynamics and mass transport characteristics compared to conventional planar microchannel reactors. In order to properly design and optimize these systems, fluid and mass transport issues playing a key role in microscale bioreactors should be adequately addressed. The present work is a parametric study of micro-groove/micro-well microchannel bioreactors. Operation conditions and design parameters were theoretically examined via a numerical model. The complex flow pattern obtained at grooves of various depths was studied and the shear protection factor compared to planar microchannels was evaluated. 3D flow simulations were preformed in order to examine the shear protection factor in micro-wells, which were found to have similar attributes as the grooves. The oxygen mass transport problem, which is coupled to the fluid mechanics problem, was solved for various groove geometries and for several cell types, assuming a defined shear stress limitation. It is shown that by optimizing the groove depth, the groove bioreactor may be used to effectively maximize the number of cells cultured within it or to minimize the oxygen gradient existing in such devices. Moreover, for sensitive cells having a high oxygen demand (e.g., hepatocytes) or low endurance to shear (e.g., human embryonic stem cells), results show that the use of grooves is an enabling technology, since under the same physical conditions the cells cannot be cultured for long periods of time in a planar microchannel. In addition to the theoretical model findings, the culture of human foreskin fibroblasts in groove (30 microm depth) and well bioreactors (35 microm depth) was experimentally examined at various flow rates of medium perfusion and compared to cell culture in regular flat microchannels. It was shown that the wells and the grooves enable a one order of magnitude increase in the maximum perfusion rate compared to planar microchannels. Altogether, the study demonstrates that the proper design and use of microgroove/well bioreactors may be highly beneficial for cell culture assays.
Asunto(s)
Reactores Biológicos , Biotecnología/métodos , Técnicas de Cultivo de Célula/métodos , Microfluídica , Recuento de Células , Línea Celular , Células Cultivadas , Humanos , Oxígeno/metabolismoRESUMEN
The culture of cells in a microbioreactor can be highly beneficial for cell biology studies and tissue engineering applications. The present work provides new insights into the relationship between cell growth, cell morphology, perfusion rate, and design parameters in microchannel bioreactors. We demonstrate the long-term culture of mammalian (human foreskin fibroblasts, HFF) cells in a microbioreactor under constant perfusion in a straightforward simple manner. A perfusion system was used to culture human cells for more than two weeks in a plain microchannel (130 microm x 1 mm x 2 cm). At static conditions and at high flow rates (>0.3 ml h(-1)), the cells did not grow in the microchannel for more than a few days. For low flow rates (<0.2 ml h(-1)), the cells grew well and a confluent layer was obtained. We show that the culture of cells in microchannels under perfusion, even at low rates, affects cell growth kinetics as well as cell morphology. The oxygen level in the microchannel was evaluated using a mass transport model and the maximum cell density measured in the microchannel at steady state. The maximum shear stress, which corresponds to the maximum flow rate used for long term culture, was 20 mPa, which is significantly lower than the shear stress cells may endure under physiological conditions. The effect of channel size and cell type on long term cell culture were also examined and were found to be significant. The presented results demonstrate the importance of understanding the relationship between design parameters and cell behavior in microscale culture system, which vary from physiological and traditional culture conditions.
Asunto(s)
Reactores Biológicos , Técnicas de Cultivo de Célula/métodos , Fibroblastos/citología , Proliferación Celular/efectos de los fármacos , Células Cultivadas , Prepucio/citología , Prepucio/efectos de los fármacos , Humanos , Masculino , Oxígeno/farmacologíaRESUMEN
The deformability of erythrocytes is of great importance for oxygen delivery in the microcirculation [Lipowsky, H.H., 2005. Microvascular rheology and hemodynamics. Microcirculation 12, 5-15]. Aging of erythrocytes is associated with a reduction in deformability and also in size. The present work describes an automated cell analyzer which utilizes a glass microchannel and advanced image processing software. Erythrocytes suspended in a high viscosity medium are filmed flowing through the microchannel. Under these conditions, the cells assume different orientations and undergo varying deformations according to their location in the velocity profile. The cell analyzer enables the measurement of individual erythrocyte velocity, deformability and volume at varying depths within the microchannel. The volume of the cells is calculated based on the experimental data and a fluid mechanics model. The results obtained show that, on average, the deformability of the cells increases with increase in their size. Additionally, the behavior of RBCs in a microchannel is investigated, showing promising diagnostic possibilities.
Asunto(s)
Tamaño de la Célula , Deformación Eritrocítica/fisiología , Eritrocitos/citología , Hemorreología/instrumentación , Hemorreología/métodos , Humanos , Procesamiento de Imagen Asistido por Computador , Técnicas Analíticas Microfluídicas/instrumentación , Técnicas Analíticas Microfluídicas/métodosRESUMEN
The motion and deformation of red blood cells (RBCs) flowing in a microchannel were studied using a theoretical model and a novel automated rheoscope. The theoretical model was developed to predict the cells deformation under shear as a function of the cells geometry and mechanical properties. Fluid dynamics and membrane mechanics are incorporated, calculating the traction and deformation in an iterative manner. The model was utilized to evaluate the effect of different biophysical parameters, such as: inner cell viscosity, membrane shear modulus and surface to volume ratio on deformation measurements. The experimental system enables the measurement of individual RBCs velocity and their deformation at defined planes within the microchannel. Good agreement was observed between the simulation results, the rheoscope measurements and published ektacytometry results. The theoretical model results imply that such deformability measuring techniques are weakly influenced by changes in the inner viscosity of the cell or the ambient fluid viscosity. However, these measurements are highly sensitive to RBC shear modulus. The shear modulus, estimated by the model and the rheoscope measurements, falls between the values obtained by micropipette aspiration and laser trapping. The study demonstrates the integration of a theoretical model with a microfabricated device in order to achieve a better understanding of RBC mechanics and their measurement using microfluidic shear assays. The system and the model have the potential of serving as quantitative clinical tools for diagnosing deformability disorders in RBCs.
Asunto(s)
Deformación Eritrocítica/fisiología , Eritrocitos/citología , Eritrocitos/fisiología , Hemorreología , Modelos Biológicos , Humanos , Estrés Mecánico , ViscosidadRESUMEN
In practice, dielectrophoresis (DEP) devices are based on micropatterned electrodes. When subjected to applied voltages, the electrodes generate nonuniform electric fields that are necessary for the DEP manipulation of particles. In this study, electrically floating electrodes are used in DEP devices. It is demonstrated that effective DEP forces can be achieved by using floating electrodes. Additionally, DEP forces generated by floating electrodes are different from DEP forces generated by excited electrodes. The floating electrodes' capabilities are explained theoretically by calculating the electric field gradients and demonstrated experimentally by using test-devices. The test-devices show that floating electrodes can be used to collect erythrocytes (red blood cells). DEP devices which contain many floating electrodes ought to have fewer connections to external signal sources. Therefore, the use of floating electrodes may considerably facilitate the fabrication and operation of DEP devices. It can also reduce device dimensions. However, the key point is that DEP devices can integrate excited electrodes fabricated by microtechnology processes and floating electrodes fabricated by nanotechnology processes. Such integration is expected to promote the use of DEP devices in the manipulation of nanoparticles.
Asunto(s)
Electroforesis/instrumentación , Nanopartículas/análisis , Animales , Eritrocitos/química , Masculino , Microelectrodos , Ratas , Ratas Sprague-DawleyRESUMEN
An automated rheoscope has been developed, utilizing a microfabricated glass flow cell, high speed camera and advanced image-processing software. RBCs suspended in a high viscosity medium were filmed flowing through a microchannel. Under these conditions, RBCs exhibit different orientations and deformations according to their location in the velocity profile. The rheoscope system produces valuable data such as velocity profile of RBCs, spatial distribution within a microchannel and deformation index (DI) curves. The variation of DI across the channel height, due to change in shear stress, was measured carrying implications for diffractometry methods. These curves of DI were taken at a constant flow rate and cover most of the relevant shear stress spectrum. This is an improvement of the existing techniques for deformability measurements and may serve as a diagnostic tool for certain blood disorders. The DI curves were compared to measurements of the flowing RBCs velocity profile. In addition, we found that RBCs flowing in a microchannel are mostly gathered in the center of the flow and maintain a characteristic spatial distribution. The spatial distribution in this region changes slightly with increasing flow rate. Hence, the system described, provides means for examining the behavior of individual RBCs, and may serve as a microfabricated diagnostic device for deformability measurement.