Biochip assessment of extended viability and functionality for tissue biopsies

• Main Author: Ang, Russell Way Loon
• Other Authors: Poenar Daniel Puiu
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/78164
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) is a non-invasive method employed to determine the viability of cells and tissue quantitatively. At present, measuring TEER of explants and tissue continue to pose a challenge both in procedure and cost. To address this, a lower cost microfluidic chip with two perfusion channels for dynamic medium flow, that can continuously measure TEER, was developed using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and Poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). After which, the chips were tested using pig epithelial esophageal tissue and mice gastrointestinal track tissue. The experiments conducted showed that the chip was able to maintain the viability of the tissue, albeit not as effective as off-chip methods due to the lack of oxygen, and measure TEER as accurately as off-chip methods despite background resistance. With further research, the problem with the lack of oxygen can be resolved and the fabrication of the chip can be made more cost effective and commercially viable.