Abstract
Applying uniform electric field (EF) in vitro in the physiological range has been achieved in rectangular shaped microchannels. However, in a circular-shaped device, it is difficult to create uniform EF from two electric potentials due to different electrical resistances originated from the length difference between the diameter of the circle and the length of any parallel chord of the bottom circular chamber where cells are cultured. To address this challenge, we develop a three-dimensional (3D) computer-aided designed (CAD) polymeric insert to create uniform EF in circular shaped multi-well culture plates. A uniform EF with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 1.2% in the 6-well plate can be generated with an effective stimulation area percentage of 69.5%. In particular, NIH/3T3 mouse embryonic fibroblast cells are used to validate the performance of the 3D designed Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) inserts in a circular-shaped 6-well plate. The CAD based inserts can be easily scaled up (i.e., 100 mm dishes) to further increase effective stimulation area percentages, and also be implemented in commercially available cultureware for a wide variety of EF-related research such as EF-cell interaction and tissue regeneration studies.
Highlights
Applying uniform electric field (EF) in vitro in the physiological range has been achieved in rectangular shaped microchannels
The current density at the bottom of the chamber was simulated for the plain polymeric insert, the smooth polymeric insert with the 3D structure designed to intersect a liquid column by paraboloids, and the layered approximation for the Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) insert (see schematics in Fig. 2(b– d))
With the liquid column thickness of 0.5 mm, uniform EF can be obtained for a 0.26 mm thick chamber using a 6 mm thick insert
Summary
Applying uniform electric field (EF) in vitro in the physiological range has been achieved in rectangular shaped microchannels. In a circular-shaped device, it is difficult to create uniform EF from two electric potentials due to different electrical resistances originated from the length difference between the diameter of the circle and the length of any parallel chord of the bottom circular chamber where cells are cultured. To address this challenge, we develop a three-dimensional (3D) computeraided designed (CAD) polymeric insert to create uniform EF in circular shaped multi-well culture plates. Cells demonstrate directional migration (electrotaxis) or orientation-change (electro-alignment) in response to a physiological dcEF in both in vitro and in vivo settings. The small cross-section of the chamber limits the applicable electrical current and reduces the Joule heating that could be harmful to the cells
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