Optimization of on-chip bacterial culture conditions using the Box-Behnken design response surface methodology for faster drug susceptibility screening.

Optimized culture conditions are essential for the investigation of biological processes. In this work, on-chip optimization of bacterial culture conditions by combining microfluidics with the Box-Behnken design response surface methodology is presented. With this methodology, the effects of several cultivation variables and their interactions were investigated enabling very fast drug susceptibility screening.

PDMS-free microfluidic cell culture with integrated gas supply through a porous membrane of anodized aluminum oxide.

Microfluidic cell cultures are often used in academic research but only rarely in pharmaceutical research because of unsuitable designs, inappropriate choice of materials or incompatibility with standard equipment. In particular, microfluidic cell cultures to control the gaseous microenvironment rely on PDMS despite its disadvantages. We present a novel concept for such a cell culture device that addresses these issues and is made out of hard materials instead of PDMS.

3D Printing Solutions for Microfluidic Chip-To-World Connections.

The connection of microfluidic devices to the outer world by tubes and wires is an underestimated issue. We present methods based on 3D printing to realize microfluidic chip holders with reliable fluidic and electric connections. The chip holders are constructed by microstereolithography, an additive manufacturing technique with sub-millimeter resolution.

Microfluidic Platform for the Long-Term On-Chip Cultivation of Mammalian Cells for Lab-On-A-Chip Applications.

Lab-on-a-Chip (LoC) applications for the long-term analysis of mammalian cells are still very rare due to the lack of convenient cell cultivation devices. The difficulties are the integration of suitable supply structures, the need of expensive equipment like an incubator and sophisticated pumps as well as the choice of material. The presented device is made out of hard, but non-cytotoxic materials (silicon and glass) and contains two vertical arranged membranes out of hydrogel.