BMSEED’s Microfluidic Innovation

In traditional microfluidic applications, a PDMS slab containing the features of the chip is plasma bonded to a glass slide. While BMSEED offers these types of devices as well, we also provide microfluidic chips that are stretchable to apply biomechanical stimuli and have embedded microelectrodes for bioelectrical stimulation (e.g., pacing of cardiomyocytes) and electrophysiological readouts. A microfluidic chip that is both stretchable and integrated with microelectrodes for electrophysiology offers a powerful combination of capabilities, leading to significant benefits, particularly for studying biological systems in dynamic and physiologically relevant environments. Here are the main advantages:

1. Enhanced Physiological Relevance:

• Mimicking Dynamic Tissues: Many biological tissues, such as muscle, heart, and brain, undergo mechanical deformation in vivo. A stretchable chip allows researchers to apply controlled mechanical strain to cultured cells or tissues, better mimicking their natural environment and eliciting more physiologically relevant responses.

• Studying Mechanotransduction: The combination enables the investigation of how mechanical forces affect cellular electrical activity, a crucial process in many biological systems.

• Long-Term Studies: The stretchability can reduce stress at the interface between the chip and the biological sample during movement or deformation, potentially enabling longer-term and more stable recordings.

2. Improved Electrophysiological Measurements:

• Stable Electrode-Tissue Interface: When the chip is stretched or deformed, the stretchable microelectrodes can maintain better contact with the cells or tissue, reducing artifacts and ensuring more reliable electrophysiological recordings compared to rigid electrodes on a deforming substrate.  

• Recording During Movement: This technology allows for the recording of electrical activity while the biological sample is being mechanically stimulated or is undergoing natural movements. This is crucial for studying dynamic processes.

• High-Resolution Mapping: Microelectrode arrays (MEAs) integrated into the stretchable chip can provide high spatial and temporal resolution of electrical activity across the deforming tissue.  

3. Integration of Microfluidics and Electrophysiology:

• Controlled Microenvironment: Microfluidic channels allow for precise control over the chemical environment of the cells or tissue, including the delivery of nutrients, drugs, and signaling molecules, while simultaneously monitoring their electrical responses.  

• Localized Drug Delivery and Stimulation: Microfluidics can be used to deliver specific stimuli (chemical or electrical) to targeted areas of the cultured tissue while recording the electrical activity at high spatial resolution.  

• Studying Intercellular Communication: The controlled environment allows for the investigation of how mechanical and chemical cues influence electrical signaling between cells.  

4. Versatile Applications:

BMSEED’s stretchable and modular microfluidic systems are enabling breakthroughs in:

• Neuroscience: Studying neuronal networks under mechanical stress (e.g., traumatic brain injury models), recording activity in developing or contracting neural tissues.

• Neurodegenerative Disease Research: Building realistic 3D models of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease for therapeutic testing.

• Mechanotransduction Studies: Investigating how cells respond to mechanical cues, such as stretching, compression, or shear stress—key in understanding musculoskeletal, cardiac, and nervous system function.

• Cardiology: Investigating the electrophysiology of cardiomyocytes under mechanical strain, modeling heart function and responses to drugs.  

• Muscle Physiology: Studying the electrical activity of muscle cells during contraction and relaxation.  

• Tissue Engineering: Assessing the functional integration and electrical properties of engineered tissues under physiological loading conditions.

• Drug Screening: Evaluating the effect of drugs on the electrical activity of cells and tissues under mechanical stimulation, providing more predictive in vitro models.  

5. Enhanced Biocompatibility and Reduced Damage:

• Soft Materials: Stretchable microfluidic chips are often made from soft, biocompatible materials like PDMS, which can reduce the mechanical mismatch between the device and biological tissues, minimizing damage and inflammation.  

In summary, BMSEED’s stretchable microfluidic chip with integrated microelectrodes for electrophysiology provides a platform for creating more physiologically relevant in vitro models, enabling the study of biological systems under dynamic conditions with precise control over their microenvironment and high-resolution electrical recording capabilities. This opens up new avenues for fundamental research, drug discovery, and the development of advanced biomedical technologies.

BMSEED’s advanced stretchable microfluidic chips can interface seamlessly with the MEASSuRE system for both 2D and 3D cell culture applications. These platforms are engineered to deliver electrophysiological stimulation, perfusion, and mechanical cues — offering researchers a versatile, modular ecosystem for studying complex biological processes.

Chip Architecture

BMSEED’s microfluidic chips feature:

• Two-Chamber Design: Each chip contains a central chamber (CC) and peripheral chamber (PC), separated by an annular microchannel. This allows for distinct yet interconnected compartments, ideal for co-culture or gradient-based studies.

• Microchannel: The microchannel is separated from the central and peripheral chambers by trapezoids that are spaced at 50 μm to 120 μm (customizable). The trapezoidal features cage the hydrogel with the cells in the respective chamber while allowing nutrients, drugs, and biomarkers to diffuse from the channel into the chambers and vice versa.

• Dedicated Gel and Media Ports: Specialized ports support the injection of hydrogel-cell suspensions into the chambers and the perfusion of culture media or drugs.

• Electrodes Embedded in Hydrogel: Electrodes remain functional and stretchable even within 3D matrices, enabling real-time electrophysiological recording or electrical stimulation.

BMSEED’s 3D-sMEA’s flexible form factor and plug-and-play electrical interfacing make it uniquely suited for long-term in vitro studies of delicate tissues like brain and spinal cord models.

Close-up of BMSEED’s microchannel.

Why Microfluidics Matters

Traditional biological research often relies on macroscale culture dishes and static conditions that fail to reflect in vivo environments. Microfluidics overcomes these limitations by:

• Allowing dynamic flow, mimicking blood circulation or interstitial flow

• Enabling localized delivery of drugs or stimuli

• Supporting 3D culture with complex topographies

• Reducing reagent and sample volumes

• Enhancing reproducibility and automation

By integrating microelectrodes, fluid channels, and mechanical stimulation modules, platforms like BMSEED’s offer a multidimensional view of tissue response, making it possible to correlate molecular signaling with functional outcomes.