Macro-to-micro interfacing to microfluidic channels using 3D-printed templates: application to time-resolved secretion sampling of endocrine tissue

Employing 3D-printed templates for macro-to-micro interfacing, a passively operated polydimethysiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic device was designed for time-resolved secretion sampling from primary murine islets and epidiymal white adipose tissue explants. Interfacing in similar devices is typically accomplished through manually punched or drilled fluidic reservoirs. We previously introduced the concept of using hand fabricated polymer inserts to template cell culture and sampling reservoirs into PDMS devices, allowing rapid stimulation and sampling of endocrine tissue. However, fabrication of the fluidic reservoirs was time consuming, tedious, and was prone to errors during device curing. Here, we have implemented computer-aided design and 3D printing to circumvent these fabrication obstacles. In addition to rapid prototyping and design iteration advantages, the ability to match these 3D-printed interface templates with channel patterns is highly beneficial. By digitizing the template fabrication process, more robust components can be produced with reduced fabrication variability. Herein, 3D-printed templates were used for sculpting millimetre-scale reservoirs into the above-channel, bulk PDMS in passively-operated, eight-channel devices designed for time-resolved secretion sampling of murine tissue. Devices were proven functional by temporally assaying glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from <10 pancreatic islets and glycerol secretion from 2 mm adipose tissue explants, suggesting that 3D-printed interface templates could be applicable to a variety of cells and tissue types. More generally, this work validates desktop 3D printers as versatile interfacing tools in microfluidic laboratories.