A modular, reversible sealing, and reusable microfluidic device for drug screening.

Autores da FMUP

• Rui Manuel Lopes Nunes

  Autor

Participantes de fora da FMUP

• Vit FF
• Wu YT
• Prado Soares MC
• Godoi N
• Fujiwara E
• Carvalho HF
• Gaziola de la Torre L

Unidades de investigação

• Laboratório Associado RISE- Rede de Investigação em Saúde

  

  Investigador

  Fernando Carlos De Landér Schmitt

• Medicina da Comunidade, Informação e Decisão em Saúde

• RISE-Health

  

  Investigador

  Fernando Carlos De Landér Schmitt

Abstract

Preclinical tests for evaluating potential drug candidates using conventional protocols can be exhaustive and high-cost processes. Microfluidic technologies that can speed up this process and allow fast screening of drugs are promising alternatives. This work presents the design, concept, and operational conditions of a simple, modular, and reversible sealing microdevice useful for drug screening. This microdevice allows for the operation of 4 parallel simultaneous conditions and can also generate a diffusive concentration gradient in sextuplicates. We used laminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS(LAM)) and glass as building materials as proof of concept. The PDMS(LAM) parts can be reused since they can be easily sterilized. We cultured MCF-7 (Michigan Cancer Foundation-7) breast cancer cells. Cells were exposed to a doxorubicin diffusive concentration gradient for 3 h. They were monitored by automated microscopy, and after data processing, it was possible to determine cell viability as a function of doxorubicin concentration. The reversible sealing enabled the recovery of the tested cells and image acquisition. Therefore, this microdevice is a promising tool for drug screening that allows assessing the cellular behavior in dynamic conditions and the recovery of cells for afterward processing and imaging.

Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords

• Concentration gradient; Drug screening; Mammalian cell; Microfluidics; Reversible sealing