Lab-on-a-brane for spheroid formation

摘要

Lab-On-a-Brane (LOB)represents a class of Lab-On-a-Chip (LOC) integrating flexible, highly gaspermeable and biocompatible thin membranes(TMs). Here we demonstrate the potentiality of LOBsas cell biochips promoting 3D cell growth. The human cancer cells MCF-7 were cultured into standardmultiwells(MWs) and into polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) MWs, LOCs, and LOBs of differentwettability. Surface treatments based on oxygen plasma and coating deposition have been performedto produce hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and oleophobic chips. By a comparison between all these chips,we observed that 3D cell aggregation is favored in LOBs, independent of substrate wettability. Thismay be attributed to the TM flexibility and the high oxygen/carbon dioxide permeability. Ultimately,LOBs seem to combine the advantages of LOCs as multi-well microfluidic chips to reduce operationtime for cell seeding and medium refresh, with the mechanical/morphological properties of PDMSTMs. This is convenient in the perspective of applying mechanical stimuli and monitoring cellstiffness, or studying the metabolism of molecules permeable to PDMS membrane in response toexternal stimuli with interesting outcomes in cellular biology.