Microfluidic platforms for biological application
Microfluidic systems have major advantages in studying biological phenomenon since they can mimic aspects of the 3D in vivo situation in a controlled environment while simultaneously providing in situ imaging capabilities for visualization and enabling cell-cell and cell-matrix interaction quantifications. Despite supporting experimental evidence showing the importance of complex microenvironment, none of the previously reported in vitro systems has reproduced the specific cross-talk among several cell types in a complex pathophysiological microenvironment such as cancer or atherosclerosis model. Moreover, microfluidics allow parametric study of multiple factors in controlled and repeatable conditions. In Biomicrofluidics Lab, we will develop a microfluidic assay and use it to study different disease models including cancer metastasis and evolution of atherosclerosis. The platform will allow organ-specific mimetic to better clarify the mutual interactions between different cell populations in a well-defined microenvironment, in order to develop highly focused and more effective therapies.Vessel Engineering
？Vasculogenesis, a process of vessel formation, on the microfluidic chips is one of the major research interests in BMFL. The 3D blood vessel network can be formed by culturing endothelial cells (e.g. HUVECs) on the microfluidic chips. The microfluidic chips allow analysis of the networks' biological and mechanical structures in detail. The 3D microvessel networks mimic in vivo microenvironments better than the classic 2D transwell cultured endothelial cells do. In addition, co-culturing endothelial cells with other cells (e.g. cancer cells) allows one to observe diverse biological phenomenon (e.g. metastasis).Tumor Microenvironment
Tumor microenvironment is a key to understand tumor behaviors. In vivo tumor microenvironment, there exists a complex structure including blood vessels and gradients of chemical and oxygen. Using the microfluidic chips, we can co-culture different cells and induce oxygen or chemical gradients. By mimicking the tumor microenvironment on chip, cancer progression such as metastasis can be observed and analyzed. It is important to study metastasis since metastasis is recognized as the cause of 90% of deaths by solid tumors. Acquiring a deeper understanding of cancer invasion and therapeutic strategies can lead to a vital contribution in reducing metastasis through novel treatment methods which target the invasion pathways. The proposed research will provide a well-controlled platform that mimics organ-specific tumor microenvironment as well as providing real-time visualization of cancer cell migration.Muscle Tissue Engineering
Muscles are constantly exposed to mechanical stress caused by elongation in our body. In addition, tretching muscles is used to enhance healing of muscle injuries. Using the microfluidic chips and our homemade stretcher, in vitro elongation of muscle cells can be easily applied and changes can be observed. In BMFL, we are aiming to observe essential biomechanical mechanisms related to muscle stretching.Testing Antimicrobial Effect Against Bacteria？
In BMFL, we use the microfluidic systems to culture bacteria for studying their responses to drugs and other external stimuli (e.g. graphene and reactive oxygen species). One of our interested fields is the antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST). As pathogenic bacteria started to gain resistance against existing antibacterial drugs, the information about bacterial susceptibility to drugs started to gain its possibilities for future antibacterial strategies. The accurate and efficient AST platforms that allow dilutions and combinations of drugs were developed in our lab using the multiple channels, showing the antimicrobial effects of antibiotics quantitive quantitively. In addition, studying the antimicrobial effects of graphene on bacteria within the microfluidic chips has great possibilities of potential applications.