Pensabene, V orcid.org/0000-0002-3352-8202, Costa, L, Terekhov, AY et al. (3 more authors) (2016) Ultrathin Polymer Membranes with Patterned, Micrometric Pores for Organs-on-Chips. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 8 (34). pp. 22629-22636. ISSN 1944-8244
Abstract
The basal lamina or basement membrane (BM) is a key physiological system that participates in physicochemical signaling between tissue types. Its formation and function are essential in tissue maintenance, growth, angiogenesis, disease progression, and immunology. In vitro models of the BM (e.g., Boyden and transwell chambers) are common in cell biology and lab-on-a-chip devices where cells require apical and basolateral polarization. Extravasation, intravasation, membrane transport of chemokines, cytokines, chemotaxis of cells, and other key functions are routinely studied in these models. The goal of the present study was to integrate a semipermeable ultrathin polymer membrane with precisely positioned pores of 2 μm diameter in a microfluidic device with apical and basolateral chambers. We selected poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA), a transparent biocompatible polymer, to prepare the semipermeable ultrathin membranes. The pores were generated by pattern transfer using a three-step method coupling femtosecond laser machining, polymer replication, and spin coating. Each step of the fabrication process was characterized by scanning electron microscopy to investigate reliability of the process and fidelity of pattern transfer. In order to evaluate the compatibility of the fabrication method with organs-on-a-chip technology, porous PLLA membranes were embedded in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic devices and used to grow human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECS) on top of the membrane with perfusion through the basolateral chamber. Viability of cells, optical transparency of membranes and strong adhesion of PLLA to PDMS were observed, thus confirming the suitability of the prepared membranes for use in organs-on-a-chip devices.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in ACS applied materials & interfaces, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsami.6b05754 |
Keywords: | femtosecond laser machining; microneedles; microporous ultrathin polymer films; polymer replication; semipermeable ultrathin polymer membranes; spin coating |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Electronic & Electrical Engineering (Leeds) > Pollard Institute (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 14 Sep 2016 11:08 |
Last Modified: | 26 Feb 2019 07:56 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsami.6b05754 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Chemical Society |
Identification Number: | 10.1021/acsami.6b05754 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:104486 |