TEOS Membrane Co-Culture Devices (Version 2)
I’ve redesigned the co-culture devices described in an earlier post to allow for media isolation as well as to alleviate concerns regarding bubble trapping. The new design is pictured below:
The large cube of silgard builds a cylindrical reservoir for media and can support upwards of 100 uL of fluid (equivalent to other co-culture devices we have purchased). The block is between 8 and 9 mm tall with a reservoir diameter of roughly 4 mm (achieved with a cork borer).
The spacer layers on the underside of the device have also been re-designed pursuant to a suggestion made on the previous post. They are now shaped like parenthesis, which in conjunction with the ability to partially flood the 24 well dish before placing the device inside appears to have removed the bubble trapping problem seen with the previous model.
Following is a picture of the devices in action:
Despite occupying more space now, the devices still fit easily into a 24 well plate. If an image of the top of the membrane is required and for some reason cannot be taken through the membrane, the reservoir block can simply by cut off with a razor which will bring the membrane into the microscope’s focal range.