Development of a 3D printed device to support long term intestinal culture as an alternative to hyperoxic chamber methods

Abstract

BackgroundMost interactions between pathogenic microorganisms and their target host occur on mucosal surfaces of internal organs such as the intestine. In vitro organ culture (IVOC) provides an unique tool for studying host-pathogen interactions in a controlled environment. However, this technique requires a complex laboratory setup and specialized apparatus. In addition, issues arise when anaerobic pathogens are exposed to the hyperoxic environment required for intestinal culture. The objective of this study was to develop an accessible 3D–printed device that would allow manipulation of the gas mixture used to supply the tissue culture media separately from the gas mixture exposed to the mucosal side of explants. ResultsPorcine colon explants from 2 pigs were prepared (n = 20) and cultured for 0h, 8h, 18h and 24h using the device. After the culture period, explants were fixed in formalin and H&E stained sections were evaluated for histological defects of the mucosa. At 8h, 66% of samples displayed no histological abnormalities, whereas samples collected at 18h and 24h displayed progressively increasing rates of superficial epithelial erosion and epithelial metaplasia. ConclusionsThe 3D–design reported here allows investigators to setup intestinal culture explants while manipulating the gas media explants are exposed to, to support tissue viability for a minimal of 8h. The amount of media necessary and tissue contamination are potential issues associated with this apparatus.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s41205-017-0018-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Intestinal explant barrier chip: long-term intestinal absorption screening in a novel microphysiological system using tissue explants

“…Sustained viability (≥24 h) of unsliced tissue explants was shown upon exposure to microfluidic flow. [32][33][34][35] However, only the systems of Dawson et al, 35 and Richardson et al, 34 had a design with twosided and separated flow to the apical and basolateral side of the tissue explant, a requirement for drug permeability studies. Here, we present our novel microfluidic chip the Intestinal Explant Barrier Chip (IEBC), which incorporates intestinal tissue explants in a two microchannel setup without cross contamination between the microchannels, thereby simulating a dynamic in vivo like microenvironment.…”

A Decision-Making Framework for Implementing Digitalisation in the South African Tooling Industry

“…Rapid prototyping has become a key stage in the product development cycle, and 3D printers have emerged on the market to fill this gap. Their use has been broad in the fields of construction [60], manufacturing [61], and medicine [62]; [63]; [64]; [65]; [66]. However, 3D printing technology does not address data collection and manipulation challenges, as it focuses on prototyping.…”

Microfluidic Device Using Mouse Small Intestinal Tissue for the Observation of Fluidic Behavior in the Lumen

“…However, the configurations were different in size and structure from the surface of the SI tract, which were assumed to be important for the fluid flow field in the SI tracts. On the other hand, microfluidic devices utilizing the natural features of full thickness intestinal tissues ex vivo were proposed [23][24][25][26]. Those devices have a sheet of a dissected intestinal tissue in the channel.…”