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Supported bilayer membranes for reducing cell adhesion in microfluidic devices.

Julia R Clapis1, Mengqi Jonathan Fan, Michelle L Kovarik

  • 1Department of Chemistry, Trinity College, 300 Summit St., Hartford, CT 06106, USA. michelle.kovarik@trincoll.edu.

Analytical Methods : Advancing Methods and Applications
|March 10, 2021
PubMed
Summary

Researchers minimized cell adhesion in microfluidic channels using lipid bilayer coatings. Optimized coatings and glucose addition effectively prevented cell fouling, enabling reliable microfluidic cell assays.

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Area of Science:

  • Biotechnology
  • Materials Science
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • Microfluidic channels are prone to fouling and clogging due to their high surface area-to-volume ratio, hindering biological analyses like cell-based assays.
  • Understanding cell adhesion mechanisms, including electrostatic and van der Waals interactions, is crucial for developing anti-fouling strategies in microfluidics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the role of electrostatic and van der Waals interactions in cell adhesion within polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannels.
  • To identify optimal supported lipid bilayer (SLB) coating conditions that minimize cell adhesion in microfluidic devices.
  • To demonstrate the utility of these optimized coatings for robust whole-cell microfluidic assays.

Main Methods:

  • Coating PDMS microchannels with supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) composed of various lipids, including egg phosphatidylcholine (EPC) and egg phosphatidylglycerol (EPG).
  • Investigating cell adhesion under different buffer ionic strengths and cell suspension media (low ionic strength buffer, rich growth medium).
  • Modulating SLB surface charge by incorporating charged lipids (EPG, ethylphosphocholine) into zwitterionic bilayers.
  • Assessing the effect of glucose concentration in cell suspensions on cell adhesion.

Main Results:

  • For low ionic strength buffer, pure zwitterionic egg phosphatidylcholine (EPC) coatings yielded optimal results.
  • In rich growth medium, zwitterionic bilayers or those with slight negative (5-10 mol% EPG) or moderate positive charge (30 mol% ethylphosphocholine) were most effective.
  • The addition of 10 g L-1 glucose to the cell suspension significantly reduced cell adhesion in both solution types.
  • Under optimized conditions, complete removal of cells from the microchannels was achieved, validating the anti-adhesion strategy.

Conclusions:

  • Supported lipid bilayer coatings can effectively prevent cell adhesion in microfluidic channels by controlling surface properties.
  • Tailoring SLB composition (charge, lipid type) and incorporating glucose are practical strategies to minimize cell fouling in microfluidic devices.
  • These findings provide valuable insights for the design and application of microfluidic systems for cell-based assays and other biological analyses.