Microfluidics

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Vanderbilt researchers have developed an integrated system ("I-Wire") for the growth of miniature, engineered 3D cardiac or other muscle or connective tissues and their active and passive mechanical characterization. The system utilizes an inverted microscope to measure the strain when the tissue constructs are laterally displaced using a calibrated flexible cantilevered probe.

Vanderbilt researchers have developed a group of microfluidic organ-on-chip devices that include perfusion controllers, microclinical analyzers, microformulators, and integrated microfluidic measurement chips. Together, these devices can measure and control multiple organ-on-chip systems in order to model the multi-organ physiology of humans.

Vanderbilt researchers have created a new multi-organs-on-chip platform that comprises Perfusion Control systems, MicroFormulators, and MicroClinical Analyzers connected via fluidic networks. The real-time combination of multiple different solutions to create customized perfusion media and the analysis of the effluents from each well are both controlled by the intelligent use of a computer-operated system of pumps and valves. This permits, for the first time, a compact, low-cost system for creating a time-dependent drug dosage profile in a tissue system inside each well.