IMB-CNM PhD Thesis Defense: 3D bioprinted hydrogel gut-on-chip model with integrated TEER sensing capabilities
By predoctoral researcher Daniel Vera.
Directors:
- Mar Álvarez (IMB-CNM)
- Elena Martínez (IBEC)
During the last decade, organ-on-chips have become a promising alternative to conventional in vitro and animal-based in vivo models. By integrating microfluidics with cell culture, these systems can recreate key mechanical forces to which epithelial and endothelial barriers are exposed to in their dynamic cell microenvironment. In this work, I present a novel gut-on-chip based on a biomimetic hydrogel channel that recapitulates the epithelial and stromal compartments. The hydrogel was fabricated with a visible-light 3D bioprinting technique to generate villi-like structures reproducing key spatial features of the intestinal epithelium. As a step further, I successfully integrated electrodes within the 3D bioprinted gut-on-chip device for real time TEER quantification. Using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), the evolution and formation of the epithelial barrier was monitored during the experiment, demonstrating the capabilities of the 3D hydrogel gut-on-chip as a potential tool to finely assess barrier permeability changes for tissue modeling in healthy and pathophysiological conditions.
Department: PhD Programme in Electrical and Telecommunication Engineering (UAB)
Tutor: Francisco Serra Graells