Using living radical polymerization to enable facile incorporation of materials in microfluidic cell culture devices

High throughput screening tools are expediting cell culture studies with applications in drug discovery and tissue engineering. This contribution demonstrates a method to incorporate 3D cell culture sites into microfluidic devices and enables the fabrication of high throughput screening tools with uniquely addressable culture environments. Contact lithographic photopolymerization (CLiPP) was used to fabricate microfluidic devices with two types of 3D culture sites: macroporous rigid polymer cell scaffolds and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) encapsulated cell matrices. Cells were cultured on-device with both types of culture sites, demonstrating material cytocompatibility. Multilayer microfluidic devices were fabricated with channels passing the top and bottom sides of a series of rigid porous polymer scaffolds. Cells were seeded and cultured on device, demonstrating the ability to deliver cells and culture cells on multiple scaffolds along the length of a single channel. Flow control through these rigid porous polymer scaffolds was demonstrated. Finally, devices were modified by grafting of PEG methacrylate from surfaces to prevent non-specific protein adsorption and ultimately cell adhesion to channel surfaces. The living radical component of this CLiPP device fabrication platform enables facile incorporation of 3D culture sites into microfluidic cell culture devices, which can be utilized for high throughput screening of cell-material interactions.