Direct laser writing for cardiac tissue engineering: a microfluidic heart on a chip with integrated transducers

Rachael K Jayne; M Çağatay Karakan; Kehan Zhang; Noelle Pierce; Christos Michas; David J Bishop; Christopher S Chen; Kamil L Ekinci; Alice E White

doi:10.1039/d0lc01078b

Direct laser writing for cardiac tissue engineering: a microfluidic heart on a chip with integrated transducers

Lab Chip. 2021 May 4;21(9):1724-1737. doi: 10.1039/d0lc01078b.

Authors

Rachael K Jayne¹, M Çağatay Karakan¹, Kehan Zhang², Noelle Pierce³, Christos Michas⁴, David J Bishop⁵, Christopher S Chen², Kamil L Ekinci⁶, Alice E White⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA. ekinci@bu.edu aew1@bu.edu and Photonics Center, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
² Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA and Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
³ Photonics Center, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
⁴ Photonics Center, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA and Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
⁵ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA. ekinci@bu.edu aew1@bu.edu and Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA and Division of Materials Science and Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA and Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
⁶ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA. ekinci@bu.edu aew1@bu.edu and Photonics Center, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA and Division of Materials Science and Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA.
⁷ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA. ekinci@bu.edu aew1@bu.edu and Photonics Center, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA and Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA and Division of Materials Science and Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA and Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.

PMID: 33949395
DOI: 10.1039/d0lc01078b

Abstract

We have developed a microfluidic platform for engineering cardiac microtissues in highly-controlled microenvironments. The platform is fabricated using direct laser writing (DLW) lithography and soft lithography, and contains four separate devices. Each individual device houses a cardiac microtissue and is equipped with an integrated strain actuator and a force sensor. Application of external pressure waves to the platform results in controllable time-dependent forces on the microtissues. Conversely, oscillatory forces generated by the microtissues are transduced into measurable electrical outputs. We demonstrate the capabilities of this platform by studying the response of cardiac microtissues derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) under prescribed mechanical loading and pacing. This platform will be used for fundamental studies and drug screening on cardiac microtissues.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Humans
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells*
Lab-On-A-Chip Devices
Lasers
Microfluidics
Tissue Engineering*
Transducers
Writing