The Modular µSiM: A Mass Produced, Rapidly Assembled, and Reconfigurable Platform for the Study of Barrier Tissue...

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Microfluidics
• Tissue Engineering

Background:

• Advanced in vitro tissue chip models offer alternatives to animal testing and potential for on-chip clinical trials.
• Current limitations include challenges in mass production and the need for customizable tissue chip platforms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a modular extension of the µSiM (microdevice featuring a silicon-nitride membrane) platform, termed m-µSiM.
• To enable mass production and easy reconfiguration of tissue chip models for diverse laboratory settings.
• To validate the m-µSiM platform for establishing and assessing barrier models, specifically a human blood-brain barrier (BBB).

Main Methods:

• Development of the modular µSiM (m-µSiM) platform using mass-produced components for simplified assembly and reconfiguration.
• Establishment of a human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived blood-brain barrier (BBB) model within the m-µSiM platform.
• Validation of in situ and sampling-based assays for small molecule diffusion to assess barrier function.

Main Results:

• The m-µSiM platform facilitated the establishment of an hiPSC-derived BBB model across different laboratories with no prior microfabrication expertise.
• Assays demonstrated excellent interlaboratory agreement and validated barrier function consistent with existing literature.
• The platform's reconfigurability was shown for coculture and immune cell transmigration studies.

Conclusions:

• The modular µSiM (m-µSiM) platform addresses the need for mass-producible and customizable tissue chip models.
• It enables the successful creation and validation of barrier models, such as the human blood-brain barrier, with high reproducibility.
• The platform's accessibility and ease of modification support custom barrier-style tissue chip designs for various research applications.