memBrains

Introduction When searching for a flow control system for microfluidic cell culture, we look to balance the ease of use, accessibility, and precision of fluidic control. For instance, researchers have explored different powered actuation methods for miniaturized precise proportional fluid control. These actuation methods include electromechanical, electrostatic, electromagnetic, piezoelectric, and thermal-based. The necessary power sources,…

Introduction Tissue barriers separate different compartments of body organs. These barriers regulate the absorption of nutrients, maintain homeostasis, and prevent toxins from entering.  In vitro models of tissue barriers have been developed to understand human diseases and investigate drug toxicity and effectiveness. In order to investigate cell-cell junctions and barrier maturity created on these models,…

Introduction The µSiM BBB model is being developed at UR with the goal to understand the impact of sepsis on the brain. Here, we use an EECM-BMEC-like cell (iSPC-derived brain endothelial cells) [1] monoculture model and an EECM-BMEC-like cell and brain pericyte-like cell (BPLC; iSPC-derived brain pericytes) [2] coculture model to optimize the concentration of…