Microfluidic device for a 3D tissue structure

Inventors

Catarino Ribeiro, Marcelo • BOONEN, Tom Mathijs Paulus Maria

Assignees

River Biomedics BV

Abstract

Microfluidic device comprising at least one cell culture unit for forming, culturing, growing and/or maintaining a 3D tissue structure such as a 3D strip of cardiac tissue, wherein the at least one cell culture unit comprises: a respective culture chamber for culturing cells having a chamber outlet opening; and a cell supply channel arranged to guide a microfluidic flow of liquid holding cells between a channel inlet and a channel outlet, wherein the cell supply channel is provided with a flow inhibitor which is operable to selectively provide a flow inhibiting state or a flow permitting state depending on a fluid pressure at the flow inhibitor, wherein, in the flow inhibiting state, the flow inhibitor is configured to substantially inhibit liquid flow between the cell supply channel and the culture chamber, wherein, in the flow permitting state, the flow inhibitor is configured to permit such liquid flow such that the cell supply channel is in liquid communication with the culture chamber to supply the culture chamber with cells, wherein the culture chamber is provided with at least two mutually spaced apart elastic support structures which extend in the culture chamber and which are configured for elastically supporting a tissue formed in the culture chamber, in particular a cultured 3D tissue formed from the cells, wherein the elastic support structures are elastically deformable, in particular flexible, in particular to vary a mutual distance of said support structures under influence of a varying contraction force between said support structures.

Core Innovation

The invention relates to a microfluidic device with at least one cell culture unit for forming, culturing, growing and/or maintaining a 3D tissue structure of cardiac tissue. Each cell culture unit includes a respective culture chamber for culturing cells having a chamber outlet opening and a cell supply channel arranged to guide a microfluidic flow of liquid holding cells. The cell supply channel is provided with a flow inhibitor that selectively provides a flow inhibiting state or a flow permitting state depending on a fluid pressure at the flow inhibitor.

In the flow inhibiting state, the flow inhibitor inhibits liquid flow between the cell supply channel and the culture chamber, and in the flow permitting state it permits such liquid flow so that the cell supply channel is in liquid communication with the culture chamber to supply the culture chamber with cells. The culture chamber further includes at least two mutually spaced apart elastic support structures extending in the culture chamber and elastically supporting a tissue formed from the cells formed in the culture chamber.

The elastic support structures are elastically deformable or flexible so as to vary a mutual distance of the support structures under influence of a varying contraction force between the support structures. The disclosure additionally characterizes the culture chamber as supporting measurement-oriented functionality, including electrophysiology and/or contraction readout, with a transparent bottom wall configured for confocal microscopy.

Claims Coverage

The independent claim coverage focuses on a microfluidic device architecture with a pressure-state flow inhibitor for selective liquid communication during cell loading and multiple elastically deformable supports in the culture chamber that vary spacing under contraction forces. One independent claim is explicitly available.

The disclosed independent claim coverage centers on combining a pressure-dependent flow inhibitor for selective liquid communication during cell supply with a culture chamber containing multiple elastically deformable support structures whose spacing varies in response to contraction forces.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications