期刊
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
卷 8, 期 -, 页码 -出版社
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.00022
关键词
actuator; bioreactor; cell; dielectric elastomer; electroactive polymer; mechanical stimulation; membrane; stretch
资金
- company IVTech Srl, Italy [641822]
- European MSCA-ITN-2014-Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network MICACT - MICroACTuators [641822]
Physiologically relevant in vitro models of stretchable biological tissues, such as muscle, lung, cardiac and gastro-intestinal tissues, should mimic the mechanical cues which cells are exposed to in their dynamic microenvironment in vivo. In particular, in order to mimic the mechanical stimulation of tissues in a physiologically relevant manner, cell stretching is often desirable on surfaces with dynamically controllable curvature. Here, we present a device that can deform cell culture membranes without the current need for external pneumatic/fluidic or electrical motors, which typically make the systems bulky and difficult to operate. We describe a modular device that uses elastomeric membranes, which can intrinsically be deformed by electrical means, producing a dynamically tuneable curvature. This approach leads to compact, self-contained, lightweight and versatile bioreactors, not requiring any additional mechanical equipment. This was obtained via a special type of dielectric elastomer actuator. The structure, operation and performance of early prototypes are described, showing preliminary evidence on their ability to induce changes on the spatial arrangement of the cytoskeleton of fibroblasts dynamically stretched for 8 h.
作者
我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。
推荐
暂无数据