A New Method for Creating a Wound Model with Micro-robot in Microfluidic Device

Abstract

In this study, we describe a comparative two-dimensional and three-dimensional wound healing assay with wound generated via exclusively designed and magnetically manipulated micro-robot and the healing process is observed with a holographic imaging setup. Dynamic three-dimensional cell culture was created in the microfluidic channel which is produced by soft lithography. In this three-dimensional tissue model, a wound was created with a magnetically manipulated micro-robot. The wound model was monitored by holographic image tracking system for three-dimensional healing and cell migration every 12 hours. Particularly, three-dimensional cell culture created in the microchannel using micro-gel. After the microchannel is entirely coated with cells, the biocompatible micro-robot was placed inside the channel, moving towards the center of the channel and creating a uniform hollow wound by layering cells from the center to outlet. For the monitoring system, we use the phase-changing incline Mach-Zehnder interferometer technique. With this holographic system, the migration and healing of the cells were monitored in real time and in three-dimensional. HUVECs (Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells), and HCT-116 (Colon Cancer) were chosen as the appropriate cancer cell line for the experiments. Upon the experiments conducted on the monitoring system and the different capabilities of the microrobot, the system shows several advantages as discussed further in the paper. Finally, we have determined that our novel three-dimensional monitoring system could provide new horizons for the study of wound healing and likewise cell processes.