The design and fabrication of a very large-scale liver-lobule (VLSLL)-on-a-chip device, providing a microphysiological niche for hepatocytes, is described. The device consists of an integrated network of liver-lobule-like hexagonal tissue-culture chambers constructed in a hybrid layout with a separate seed-feed network. As a key feature, each chamber contains a central outlet mimicking the central vein of a liver lobule. Separating chamber walls located between the culture area and feed network protects cells from the shear force of the convective flow. Arrays of designated passages convey nutrients to the cells by diffusion-dominated mass transport. We simulated the flow velocity, shear stress and diffusion of glucose molecules inside and outside the culture chambers under a continuous flow rate of 1 μl min. As proof of concept, human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2) were cultured for periods of 5 and 14 days and human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived hepatocytes for 21 days. Stabilized albumin secretion and urea synthesis were observed in the microfluidic devices and cells maintained morphology and functionality during the culture period. Furthermore, we observed 3D tissue-like structure and bile-canaliculi network formation in the chips. Future applications of the described platform include drug development and toxicity studies, as well as the modeling of patient-specific liver diseases, and integration in multi-organ human-on-a-chip systems.

Advances in organ-on-chip technologies for the application in in vitro drug development provide an attractive alternative approach to replace ethically controversial animal testing and to establish a basis for accelerated drug development. In recent years, various chip-based tissue culture systems have been developed, which are mostly optimized for cultivation of one single cell type or organoid structure and lack the representation of multi organ interactions. Here we present an optimized microfluidic chip design consisting of interconnected compartments, which provides the possibility to mimic the exchange between different organ specific cell types and enables to study interdependent cellular responses between organs and demonstrate that such tandem system can greatly improve the reproducibility and efficiency of toxicity studies. In a simplified liver-kidney-on-chip model, we showed that hepatic cells that grow in microfluidic conditions abundantly and stably expressed metabolism-related biomarkers. Moreover, we applied this system for investigating the biotransformation and toxicity of Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and Benzoalphapyrene (BαP), as well as the interaction with other chemicals. The results clearly demonstrate that the toxicity and metabolic response to drugs can be evaluated in a flow-dependent manner within our system, supporting the importance of advanced interconnected multiorgans in microfluidic devices for application in in vitro toxicity testing and as optimized tissue culture systems for in vitro drug screening.

Abstract:The possibility to conduct complete cell assays under a precisely controlled environment while consuming minor amounts of chemicals and precious drugs have made microfluidics an interesting candidate for quantitative single-cell studies. Here, we present an application-specific microfluidic device, cellcomb, capable of conducting high-throughput single-cell experiments. The system employs pure hydrodynamic forces for easy cell trapping and is readily fabricated in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) using soft lithography techniques. The cell-trapping array consists of V-shaped pockets designed to accommodate up to six Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast cells) with the average diameter of 4 μm. We used this platform to monitor the impact of flow rate modulation on the arsenite (As(III)) uptake in yeast. Redistribution of a green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged version of the heat shock protein Hsp104 was followed over time as read out. Results showed a clear reverse correlation between the arsenite uptake and three different adjusted low = 25 nL min −1 , moderate = 50 nL min −1 , and high = 100 nL min −1 flow rates. We consider the presented device as the first building block of a future integrated application-specific cell-trapping array that can be used to conduct complete single cell experiments on different cell types.

In this unit, we provide a clear exposition of the methodology employed to study dynamic responses in individual cells, using microfluidics for controlling and adjusting the cell environment, optical tweezers for precise cell positioning, and fluorescence microscopy for detecting intracellular responses. This unit focuses on the induction and study of glycolytic oscillations in single yeast cells, but the methodology can easily be adjusted to examine other biological questions and cell types. We present a step‐by‐step guide for fabrication of the microfluidic device, for alignment of the optical tweezers, for cell preparation, and for time‐lapse imaging of glycolytic oscillations in single cells, including a discussion of common pitfalls. A user who follows the protocols should be able to detect clear metabolite time traces over the course of up to an hour that are indicative of dynamics on the second scale in individual cells during fast and reversible environmental adjustments. © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.