Fabrication of flexible thin polyurethane membrane for tissue engineering applications

A Arefin; J-H Huang; D Platts; V D Hypes; J F Harris; R Iyer; P Nath

doi:10.1007/s10544-017-0236-6

Fabrication of flexible thin polyurethane membrane for tissue engineering applications

Biomed Microdevices. 2017 Nov 7;19(4):98. doi: 10.1007/s10544-017-0236-6.

Authors

A Arefin^{1

2}, J-H Huang³, D Platts⁴, V D Hypes⁵, J F Harris⁶, R Iyer⁷, P Nath⁸

Affiliations

¹ Nanoscience and Microsystems Department, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
² Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA.
³ National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
⁴ Applied Modern Physics Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA.
⁵ New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM, USA.
⁶ Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA. jfharris@lanl.gov.
⁷ Systems Analysis and Surveillance Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA. rashi@lanl.gov.
⁸ Applied Modern Physics Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA. pulakn@lanl.gov.

PMID: 29116412
DOI: 10.1007/s10544-017-0236-6

Abstract

Thin and flexible polymeric membranes play a critical role in tissue engineering applications for example organs-on-a-chip. These flexible membranes can enable mechanical stretch of the engineered tissue to mimic organ-specific biophysical features, such as breathing. In this work, we report the fabrication of thin (<20 μm), stretchable, and biocompatible polyurethane (PU) membranes. The membranes were fabricated using spin coating technique on silicon substrates and were mounted on a frame for ease of device integration and handling. The membranes were characterized for their optical and elastic properties and compatibility with cell/tissue culture. It was possible to apply up to 10 kilopascal (kPa) pressure to perform cyclic stretch on 4 mm-diameter membranes for a period of 2 weeks at 0.2 hertz (Hz) frequency without mechanical failure. Adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial (A549) cells were cultured on the apical side of the PU membrane. The morphology and viability of the cells were comparable to those of cells cultured on standard tissue culture plates. Our experiments suggest that the stretchable PU membrane will be broadly useful for various tissue engineering applications in vitro.

Keywords: Cell culture; Flexible polyurethane membrane; Stretchable membrane; Thin membrane; Tissue engineering.

MeSH terms

A549 Cells
Biocompatible Materials / chemistry
Biomimetic Materials
Cell Survival
Humans
Lab-On-A-Chip Devices
Membranes / chemistry*
Models, Theoretical
Polymers / chemistry
Polyurethanes / chemistry*
Tissue Engineering*
Tissue Scaffolds

Substances

Biocompatible Materials
Polymers
Polyurethanes