title: Retina-on-a-chip: a microfluidic platform for point access signaling studies.
abstract: We report on a microfluidic platform for culture of whole organs or tissue slices with the capability of point access reagent delivery to probe the transport of signaling events. Whole mice retina were maintained for multiple days with negative pressure applied to tightly but gently bind the bottom of the retina to a thin poly-(dimethylsiloxane) membrane, through which twelve 100 μm diameter through-holes served as fluidic access points. Staining with toluidine blue, transport of locally applied cholera toxin beta, and transient response to lipopolysaccharide in the retina demonstrated the capability of the microfluidic platform. The point access fluidic delivery capability could enable new assays in the study of various kinds of excised tissues, including retina.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Kirsten H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Dodson
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Vanderbilt Eye Institute, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Franklin D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Echevarria
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. deyu.li@vanderbilt.edu.
authors.forename: Deyu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Vanderbilt Eye Institute, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA. rebecca.m.sappington@vanderbilt.edu.
authors.forename: Rebecca M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Sappington
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. jonedd2@gmail.com.|Cancer Center and BioMEMS Resource Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. jonedd2@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jon F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Edd
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement; D004867:Equipment Design; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; D044085:Microfluidics; D017628:Microglia / Q000166:cytology; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D012160:Retina / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Microenvironment; Microfluidic tissue culture; Retina