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Advances in cell coculture membranes recapitulating in vivo microenvironments. Trends Biotechnol 2023; 41:214-227. [PMID: 36030108 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2022.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Revised: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Porous membranes play a critical role in in vitro heterogeneous cell coculture systems because they recapitulate the in vivo microenvironment to mediate physical and biochemical crosstalk between cells. While the conventionally available Transwell® system has been widely used for heterogeneous cell coculture, there are drawbacks to precise control over cell-cell interactions and separation for implantation. The size and numbers of the pores and the thickness of the porous membranes are crucial in determining the efficiency of paracrine signaling and direct junctions between cocultured cells, and significantly impact on the performance of heterogeneous cell cultures. These opportunities and challenges have motivated the design of advanced coculture platforms through improvement of the structural and functional properties of porous membranes.
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Gholizadeh S, Allahyari Z, Carter R, Delgadillo LF, Blaquiere M, Nouguier-Morin F, Marchi N, Gaborski TR. Robust and Gradient Thickness Porous Membranes for In Vitro Modeling of Physiological Barriers. ADVANCED MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES 2020; 5:2000474. [PMID: 33709013 PMCID: PMC7942760 DOI: 10.1002/admt.202000474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2020] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Porous membranes are fundamental elements for tissue-chip barrier and co-culture models. However, the exaggerated thickness of commonly available membranes may represent a stumbling block impeding a more accurate in vitro modeling. Existing techniques to fabricate membranes such as solvent cast, spin-coating, sputtering and PE-CVD result in uniform thickness films. Here, we developed a robust method to generate ultrathin porous parylene C (UPP) membranes not just with precise thicknesses down to 300 nm, but with variable gradients in thicknesses, while at the same time having porosities up to 25%. We also show surface etching and increased roughness lead to improved cell attachment. Next, we examined the mechanical properties of UPP membranes with varying porosity and thickness and fit our data to previously published models, which can help determine practical upper limits of porosity and lower limits of thickness. Lastly, we validate a straightforward approach allowing the successful integration of the UPP membranes into a prototyped 3D-printed scaffold, demonstrating mechanical robustness and allowing cell adhesion under varying flow conditions. Collectively, our results support the integration and the use of UPP membranes to examine cell-cell interaction in vitro.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shayan Gholizadeh
- Department of Microsystems Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 14623, USA
| | - Zahra Allahyari
- Department of Microsystems Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 14623, USA
| | - Robert Carter
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 14623, USA
| | - Luis F Delgadillo
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14620, USA
| | - Marine Blaquiere
- Cerebrovascular and Glia Research, Institute of Functional Genomics (CNRS UMR5203, INSERM U1191, and University of Montpellier), Montpellier, 34094, France
| | - Frederic Nouguier-Morin
- Cerebrovascular and Glia Research, Institute of Functional Genomics (CNRS UMR5203, INSERM U1191, and University of Montpellier), Montpellier, 34094, France
| | - Nicola Marchi
- Cerebrovascular and Glia Research, Institute of Functional Genomics (CNRS UMR5203, INSERM U1191, and University of Montpellier), Montpellier, 34094, France
| | - Thomas R Gaborski
- Department of Microsystems Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 14623, USA
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Khire TS, Salminen AT, Swamy H, Lucas KS, McCloskey MC, Ajalik RE, Chung HH, Gaborski TR, Waugh RE, Glading AJ, McGrath JL. Microvascular Mimetics for the Study of Leukocyte-Endothelial Interactions. Cell Mol Bioeng 2020; 13:125-139. [PMID: 32175026 DOI: 10.1007/s12195-020-00611-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 01/24/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction The pathophysiological increase in microvascular permeability plays a well-known role in the onset and progression of diseases like sepsis and atherosclerosis. However, how interactions between neutrophils and the endothelium alter vessel permeability is often debated. Methods In this study, we introduce a microfluidic, silicon-membrane enabled vascular mimetic (μSiM-MVM) for investigating the role of neutrophils in inflammation-associated microvascular permeability. In utilizing optically transparent silicon nanomembrane technology, we build on previous microvascular models by enabling in situ observations of neutrophil-endothelium interactions. To evaluate the effects of neutrophil transmigration on microvascular model permeability, we established and validated electrical (transendothelial electrical resistance and impedance) and small molecule permeability assays that allow for the in situ quantification of temporal changes in endothelium junctional integrity. Results Analysis of neutrophil-expressed β1 integrins revealed a prominent role of neutrophil transmigration and basement membrane interactions in increased microvascular permeability. By utilizing blocking antibodies specific to the β1 subunit, we found that the observed increase in microvascular permeability due to neutrophil transmigration is constrained when neutrophil-basement membrane interactions are blocked. Having demonstrated the value of in situ measurements of small molecule permeability, we then developed and validated a quantitative framework that can be used to interpret barrier permeability for comparisons to conventional Transwell™ values. Conclusions Overall, our results demonstrate the potential of the μSiM-MVM in elucidating mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory disease, and provide evidence for a role for neutrophils in inflammation-associated endothelial barrier disruption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tejas S Khire
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627 USA
| | - Alec T Salminen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627 USA
| | - Harsha Swamy
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627 USA
| | - Kilean S Lucas
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627 USA
| | - Molly C McCloskey
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627 USA
| | - Raquel E Ajalik
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627 USA
| | - Henry H Chung
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 14623 USA
| | - Thomas R Gaborski
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627 USA.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 14623 USA
| | - Richard E Waugh
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627 USA
| | - Angela J Glading
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627 USA
| | - James L McGrath
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627 USA
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Hudecz D, Khire T, Chung HL, Adumeau L, Glavin D, Luke E, Nielsen MS, Dawson KA, McGrath JL, Yan Y. Ultrathin Silicon Membranes for in Situ Optical Analysis of Nanoparticle Translocation across a Human Blood-Brain Barrier Model. ACS NANO 2020; 14:1111-1122. [PMID: 31914314 PMCID: PMC7049097 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.9b08870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Here we present a blood-brain barrier (BBB) model that enables high-resolution imaging of nanoparticle (NP) interactions with endothelial cells and the capture of rare NP translocation events. The enabling technology is an ultrathin silicon nitride (SiN) membrane (0.5 μm pore size, 20% porosity, 400 nm thickness) integrated into a dual-chamber platform that facilitates imaging at low working distances (∼50 μm). The platform, the μSiM-BBB (microfluidic silicon membrane-BBB), features human brain endothelial cells and primary astrocytes grown on opposite sides of the membrane. The human brain endothelial cells form tight junctions on the ultrathin membranes and exhibit a significantly higher resistance to FITC-dextran diffusion than commercial membranes. The enhanced optical properties of the SiN membrane allow high-resolution live-cell imaging of three types of NPs, namely, 40 nm PS-COOH, 100 nm PS-COOH, and apolipoprotein E-conjugated 100 nm SiO2, interacting with the BBB. Despite the excellent barrier properties of the endothelial layer, we are able to document rare NP translocation events of NPs localized to lysosomal compartments of astrocytes on the "brain side" of the device. Although the translocation is always low, our data suggest that size and targeting ligand are important parameters for NP translocation across the BBB. As a platform that enables the detection of rare transmission across tight BBB layers, the μSiM-BBB is an important tool for the design of nanoparticle-based delivery of drugs to the central nervous system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diána Hudecz
- Centre for BioNano Interactions, School of Chemistry, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
- Present address: Department of Biomedicine, Faculty of Health, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 10, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Tejas Khire
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, United States
| | - Hung Li Chung
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, United States
| | - Laurent Adumeau
- Centre for BioNano Interactions, School of Chemistry, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Dale Glavin
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, United States
| | - Emma Luke
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, United States
| | - Morten S. Nielsen
- Department of Biomedicine, Faculty of Health, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 10, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
- Lundbeck Foundation, Research Initiative on Brain Barriers and Drug Delivery, Scherfigsvej 7, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kenneth A. Dawson
- Centre for BioNano Interactions, School of Chemistry, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - James L. McGrath
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, United States
| | - Yan Yan
- Centre for BioNano Interactions, School of Chemistry, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
- School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
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Salminen AT, Zhang J, Madejski GR, Khire TS, Waugh RE, McGrath JL, Gaborski TR. Ultrathin Dual-Scale Nano- and Microporous Membranes for Vascular Transmigration Models. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2019; 15:e1804111. [PMID: 30632319 PMCID: PMC6530565 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201804111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2018] [Revised: 11/26/2018] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Selective cellular transmigration across the microvascular endothelium regulates innate and adaptive immune responses, stem cell localization, and cancer cell metastasis. Integration of traditional microporous membranes into microfluidic vascular models permits the rapid assay of transmigration events but suffers from poor reproduction of the cell permeable basement membrane. Current microporous membranes in these systems have large nonporous regions between micropores that inhibit cell communication and nutrient exchange on the basolateral surface reducing their physiological relevance. Here, the use of 100 nm thick continuously nanoporous silicon nitride membranes as a base substrate for lithographic fabrication of 3 µm pores is presented, resulting in a highly porous (≈30%), dual-scale nano- and microporous membrane for use in an improved vascular transmigration model. Ultrathin membranes are patterned using a precision laser writer for cost-effective, rapid micropore design iterations. The optically transparent dual-scale membranes enable complete observation of leukocyte egress across a variety of pore densities. A maximal density of ≈14 micropores per cell is discovered beyond which cell-substrate interactions are compromised giving rise to endothelial cell losses under flow. Addition of a subluminal extracellular matrix rescues cell adhesion, allowing for the creation of shear-primed endothelial barrier models on nearly 30% continuously porous substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alec T Salminen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Jingkai Zhang
- Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Gregory R Madejski
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Tejas S Khire
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Richard E Waugh
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - James L McGrath
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Thomas R Gaborski
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 14623, USA
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Abstract
Silicon nanomembranes are ultrathin, highly permeable, optically transparent and biocompatible substrates for the construction of barrier tissue models. Trans-epithelial/endothelial electrical resistance (TEER) is often used as a non-invasive, sensitive and quantitative technique to assess barrier function. The current study characterizes the electrical behavior of devices featuring silicon nanomembranes to facilitate their application in TEER studies. In conventional practice with commercial systems, raw resistance values are multiplied by the area of the membrane supporting cell growth to normalize TEER measurements. We demonstrate that under most circumstances, this multiplication does not 'normalize' TEER values as is assumed, and that the assumption is worse if applied to nanomembrane chips with a limited active area. To compare the TEER values from nanomembrane devices to those obtained from conventional polymer track-etched (TE) membranes, we develop finite element models (FEM) of the electrical behavior of the two membrane systems. Using FEM and parallel cell-culture experiments on both types of membranes, we successfully model the evolution of resistance values during the growth of endothelial monolayers. Further, by exploring the relationship between the models we develop a 'correction' function, which when applied to nanomembrane TEER, maps to experiments on conventional TE membranes. In summary, our work advances the the utility of silicon nanomembranes as substrates for barrier tissue models by developing an interpretation of TEER values compatible with conventional systems.
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Li X, Johnson D, Ma W, Chung H, Getpreecharsawas J, McGrath JL, Shestopalov AA. Modification of Nanoporous Silicon Nitride with Stable and Functional Organic Monolayers. CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS : A PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 2017; 29:2294-2302. [PMID: 29651199 PMCID: PMC5892436 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b05392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
This study describes the formation of functional organic monolayers on thin, nanoporous silicon nitride membranes. We demonstrate that the vapor-phase carbene insertion into the surface C-H bonds can be used to form sub-5 nm molecular coatings on nanoporous materials, which can be further modified with monolayers of polyethylene glycol (PEG) molecules. We investigate composition, thickness, and stability of the functionalized monolayers and the changes in the membrane permeability and pore size distribution. We show that, due to the low coating thickness (~7 nm), the functionalized membrane retains 80% of the original gas permeance and 40% of the original hydraulic permeability. We also show that the carbene/PEG functionalization is hydrolytically stable for up to 48 h of exposure to water and that it can suppress nonspecific adsorption of the proteins BSA and IgG. Our results suggest that the vapor-phase carbenylation can be used as a complementary technology to the traditional self-assembly and polymer brush chemistries in chemical functionalization of nanoporous materials, which are limited in their ability to serve as stable coatings that do not occlude nanomembrane pores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xunzhi Li
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, United States
| | - Dean Johnson
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, United States
| | - Wenchuan Ma
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, United States
| | - Henry Chung
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, United States
| | - Jirachai Getpreecharsawas
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, United States
| | - James L. McGrath
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, United States
- Corresponding Authors: .
| | - Alexander A. Shestopalov
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, United States
- Corresponding Authors: .
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