Hi! I am an undergraduate researcher at UC Davis working on culturing mammalian cells (MDCK and MEF specifically) in a PDMS (Sylgard 184) closed-channel microfluidic device (12 x 16 array of wells). My team and I are having trouble with getting the cells to adhere properly and grow. We add 0.25 % PEG to our PDMS base and we coat our device with either collagen or poly-L-lysine to increase cell adhesion. We are looking to see if the resin we’re using (SLA Clear Formlabs product) is leaching into the PDMS device that the cells grow in, but our current focus is:
- Ensuring complete polymerization and sterilization of the PDMS possibly with autoclaving/solvent baths
- Addressing the possibility that the PDMS is absorbing nutrients from the media. We don’t currently perfuse media in our device overnight because of lab set up limitations, but rather refill the device every few days with media.
Is there a way we can test for or prevent either of these problems? Any suggestions would be much appreciated! I’ve included a photo of our device below! The pill shape in the middle contains wells in which the cells will (hopefully) grow.
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