University of Twente Student Theses
Assessing barrier properties using impedance spectroscopy in a semi-circular, blood-brain barrier on-chip
Avgidis, Fotios (2019) Assessing barrier properties using impedance spectroscopy in a semi-circular, blood-brain barrier on-chip.
PDF
13MB |
Abstract: | The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a crucial biological structure that isolates the central nervous system from the rest of the body. Recapitulating BBB functionality on-chip could allow us to evaluate novel neurotherapeutics and understand how different biological components interact to form the BBB. We have developed a microfluidic BBB model that integrates electrodes, allowing for real-time and label-free assessment of the barrier’ s integrity. Unlike previous efforts, our model reflects the actual size (diameter < 30 μm) and circular shape of a human brain microvessel, and achieves membrane-free separation of the basolateral and apical compartments. Using our BBB, we measured in vivo-like TEER values, showed that vitamin C contributes towards a tighter endothelium, and transiently modulated the tightness of the cell layer by locally depleting calcium ions. Finally, we verified the observation that the human cerebral endothelial cells used in this study (cell line hCMEC/D3) form a tight monolayer without the need for endothelial–glial co-culture. |
Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
Faculty: | EEMCS: Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science |
Subject: | 42 biology, 53 electrotechnology |
Programme: | Electrical Engineering MSc (60353) |
Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/77981 |
Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
Repository Staff Only: item control page