Microfluidic Bioreactor with Fibrous Micromixers for In Vitro mRNA Transcription

A new type of microfluidic bioreactor with fibrous micromixersfor the ingredient mixing and a long macrochannel for the in vitrotranscription reaction was fabricated for the continuous productionof mRNA. The diameter of the fibrous microchannels in the micromixerswas tuned by using an electrospun microfibrous disc with differentmicrofiber diameters. The micromixer with a larger diameter of fibrousmicrochannels exhibited a better mixing performance than the others.The mixing efficiency was increased to 0.95 while the mixture waspassed through the micromixers, suggesting complete mixing. To demonstratethe continuous production of mRNA, the ingredients for in vitro transcriptionwere introduced into the perfluoropolyether microfluidic bioreactor.The mRNA synthesized by the microfluidic bioreactor had the same sequenceand in vitro/in vivo performances as those prepared by the bulk reaction.The continuous reaction in the microfluidic bioreactor with efficientmixing performance can be used as a powerful platform for variousmicrofluidic reactions.

Automated summary

A new microfluidic bioreactor was developed with fibrous micromixers for ingredient mixing and a long macrochannel for in vitro transcription reaction, enabling continuous production of mRNA. The diameter of the fibrous microchannels in the micromixers was controlled by using an electrospun microfibrous disc with different microfiber diameters. The micromixer with larger diameter fibrous microchannels showed superior mixing performance. The continuous reaction in the microfluidic bioreactor with efficient mixing performance can serve as a powerful platform for various microfluidic reactions.