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Updated: May 10, 2026
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Generation of Dynamical Environmental Conditions using a High-Throughput Microfluidic Device
Published on: April 17, 2021
Microfluidic heart on a chip for higher throughput pharmacological studies.
Ashutosh Agarwal1, Josue Adrian Goss, Alexander Cho
1Disease Biophysics Group, Wyss Institute of Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard Stem Cell Institute, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 29 Oxford St, Pierce Hall Rm 321, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Lab on a Chip
|June 29, 2013
Summary
We developed a higher throughput "heart on a chip" using microtissues on cantilevers to measure cardiac contractility. This platform enables drug testing and integration with other organ-on-a-chip models.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Cardiovascular Research
- Tissue Engineering
Background:
- Developing functional cardiac microtissues is crucial for drug screening and disease modeling.
- Existing methods for assessing cardiac tissue function lack high throughput and standardization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and validate a higher throughput "heart on a chip" platform for assessing cardiac microtissue contractility.
- To enable precise measurement of contractile forces (diastolic and systolic stresses) generated by engineered cardiac tissues.
- To create a standardized, scalable platform for drug testing and integration with other organ-on-a-chip systems.
Main Methods:
- Engineered anisotropic cardiac microtissues on sub-millimeter thin film cantilevers (Muscular Thin Films - MTFs) using a semi-automated fabrication technique.
- Developed a reusable, one-channel fluidic microdevice with a metallic base for temperature control, transparent top for optical recording, and embedded electrodes for electrical stimulation.
- Measured cantilever deflection during muscle contraction to calculate developed stresses and tested the effect of isoproterenol on cardiac contractility.
Main Results:
- Successfully engineered anisotropic cardiac microtissues that recapitulate ventricular architecture.
- Quantified diastolic and systolic stresses generated by the engineered cardiac tissues via MTF deflection.
- Demonstrated the platform's sensitivity by observing the positive inotropic effect of isoproterenol on cardiac contractility across a range of dosages (1 nM to 100 μM).
Conclusions:
- The developed "heart on a chip" offers a higher throughput, reproducible, and scalable platform for cardiac research.
- This technology facilitates drug efficacy testing, especially for rare or expensive cell sources.
- The platform's design advances the integration of cardiac models within multi-organ systems, addressing translational barriers for commercialization.
