Fabrication and Hydrodynamic Characterization of a Microfluidic Device for Cell Adhesion Tests in Polymeric Surfaces

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2019

Authors

Ponmozhi, J. (Author) Other; J. M. R. Moreira (Author) Other; F. J. Mergulhão (Author) FEUP; João B. L. M. Campos (Author) FEUP; J. M. Miranda (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Micromachines

Vol. 10 No. 5

Pages: 1-16

ISSN: 2072-666X

Publisher: MDPI

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 1 Citation

Scopus - 2 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00Q-HMM

DOI: 10.3390/mi10050303

Abstract (EN): A fabrication method is developed to produce a microfluidic device to test cell adhesion to polymeric materials. The process is able to produce channels with walls of any spin coatable polymer. The method is a modification of the existing poly-dimethylsiloxane soft lithography method and, therefore, it is compatible with sealing methods and equipment of most microfluidic laboratories. The molds are produced by xurography, simplifying the fabrication in laboratories without sophisticated equipment for photolithography. The fabrication method is tested by determining the effective differences in bacterial adhesion in five different materials. These materials have different surface hydrophobicities and charges. The major drawback of the method is the location of the region of interest in a lowered surface. It is demonstrated by bacterial adhesion experiments that this drawback has a negligible effect on adhesion. The flow in the device was characterized by computational fluid dynamics and it was shown that shear stress in the region of interest can be calculated by numerical methods and by an analytical equation for rectangular channels. The device is therefore validated for adhesion tests.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 16