Fluid dynamic design for mitigating undesired cell effects and its application to testis cell response testing to endocrine disruptors
Abstract Microfluidic devices have emerged as powerful tools for cell-based experiments, offering a controlled microenvironment that mimic the conditions within the body. Numerous cell experiment studies have successfully utilized microfluidic channels to achieve various new scientific discoveries....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Journal of Biological Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13036-023-00369-1 |
| _version_ | 1797452360049491968 |
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| author | Seungjin Lee Jinseop Ahn Seok-Man Kim Daehan Kim Jiun Yeom Jeongmok Kim Joong Yull Park Buom-Yong Ryu |
| author_facet | Seungjin Lee Jinseop Ahn Seok-Man Kim Daehan Kim Jiun Yeom Jeongmok Kim Joong Yull Park Buom-Yong Ryu |
| author_sort | Seungjin Lee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Microfluidic devices have emerged as powerful tools for cell-based experiments, offering a controlled microenvironment that mimic the conditions within the body. Numerous cell experiment studies have successfully utilized microfluidic channels to achieve various new scientific discoveries. However, it has been often overlooked that undesired and unnoticed propagation of cellular molecules in such bio-microfluidic channel systems can have a negative impact on the experimental results. Thus, more careful designing is required to minimize such unwanted issues through deeper understanding and careful control of chemically and physically predominant factors at the microscopic scale. In this paper, we introduce a new approach to improve microfluidic channel design, specifically targeting the mitigation of the aforementioned challenges. To minimize the occurrence of undesired cell positioning upstream from the main test section where a concentration gradient field locates, an additional narrow port structure was devised between the microfluidic upstream channel and each inlet reservoir. This port also functioned as a passive lock that hold the flow at rest via fluid-air surface tension, which facilitated manual movement of the device even when cell attachment was not achieved completely. To demonstrate the practicability of the system, we conducted experiments and diffusion simulations on the effect of endocrine disruptors on germ cells. To this end, a bisphenol-A (BPA) concentration gradient was generated in the main channel of the system at BPA concentrations ranging from 120.8 μM to 79.3 μM, and the proliferation of GC-1 cells in the BPA gradient environment was quantitatively evaluated. The features and concepts of the introduced design is to minimize unexpected and ignored error sources, which will be one of the issues to be considered in the development of microfluidic systems to explore extremely delicate cellular phenomena. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:07:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-542d5e8eaeb043f296cbe2e3b01e9628 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1754-1611 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:07:47Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Biological Engineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-542d5e8eaeb043f296cbe2e3b01e96282023-11-26T13:34:33ZengBMCJournal of Biological Engineering1754-16112023-08-0117111310.1186/s13036-023-00369-1Fluid dynamic design for mitigating undesired cell effects and its application to testis cell response testing to endocrine disruptorsSeungjin Lee0Jinseop Ahn1Seok-Man Kim2Daehan Kim3Jiun Yeom4Jeongmok Kim5Joong Yull Park6Buom-Yong Ryu7School of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Chung-Ang UniversityPresent address: Columbia Center for Translational Immunology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical CenterDepartment of Animal Science and Technology, BET Research Institute, Chung-Ang UniversitySchool of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Chung-Ang UniversitySchool of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Chung-Ang UniversitySchool of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Chung-Ang UniversitySchool of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Chung-Ang UniversityDepartment of Animal Science and Technology, BET Research Institute, Chung-Ang UniversityAbstract Microfluidic devices have emerged as powerful tools for cell-based experiments, offering a controlled microenvironment that mimic the conditions within the body. Numerous cell experiment studies have successfully utilized microfluidic channels to achieve various new scientific discoveries. However, it has been often overlooked that undesired and unnoticed propagation of cellular molecules in such bio-microfluidic channel systems can have a negative impact on the experimental results. Thus, more careful designing is required to minimize such unwanted issues through deeper understanding and careful control of chemically and physically predominant factors at the microscopic scale. In this paper, we introduce a new approach to improve microfluidic channel design, specifically targeting the mitigation of the aforementioned challenges. To minimize the occurrence of undesired cell positioning upstream from the main test section where a concentration gradient field locates, an additional narrow port structure was devised between the microfluidic upstream channel and each inlet reservoir. This port also functioned as a passive lock that hold the flow at rest via fluid-air surface tension, which facilitated manual movement of the device even when cell attachment was not achieved completely. To demonstrate the practicability of the system, we conducted experiments and diffusion simulations on the effect of endocrine disruptors on germ cells. To this end, a bisphenol-A (BPA) concentration gradient was generated in the main channel of the system at BPA concentrations ranging from 120.8 μM to 79.3 μM, and the proliferation of GC-1 cells in the BPA gradient environment was quantitatively evaluated. The features and concepts of the introduced design is to minimize unexpected and ignored error sources, which will be one of the issues to be considered in the development of microfluidic systems to explore extremely delicate cellular phenomena.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13036-023-00369-1MicrofluidicsHuman errorComputational fluid dynamics (CFD)Diffusion gradientBisphenol-A (BPA)GC-1 cell |
| spellingShingle | Seungjin Lee Jinseop Ahn Seok-Man Kim Daehan Kim Jiun Yeom Jeongmok Kim Joong Yull Park Buom-Yong Ryu Fluid dynamic design for mitigating undesired cell effects and its application to testis cell response testing to endocrine disruptors Journal of Biological Engineering Microfluidics Human error Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) Diffusion gradient Bisphenol-A (BPA) GC-1 cell |
| title | Fluid dynamic design for mitigating undesired cell effects and its application to testis cell response testing to endocrine disruptors |
| title_full | Fluid dynamic design for mitigating undesired cell effects and its application to testis cell response testing to endocrine disruptors |
| title_fullStr | Fluid dynamic design for mitigating undesired cell effects and its application to testis cell response testing to endocrine disruptors |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fluid dynamic design for mitigating undesired cell effects and its application to testis cell response testing to endocrine disruptors |
| title_short | Fluid dynamic design for mitigating undesired cell effects and its application to testis cell response testing to endocrine disruptors |
| title_sort | fluid dynamic design for mitigating undesired cell effects and its application to testis cell response testing to endocrine disruptors |
| topic | Microfluidics Human error Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) Diffusion gradient Bisphenol-A (BPA) GC-1 cell |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13036-023-00369-1 |
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