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Optimizing a polydopamine coating protocol to adhere a hydrogel scaffold to a PDMS chip for application in a heart-on-chip model

Verhees, D.A.G.B. (2022) Optimizing a polydopamine coating protocol to adhere a hydrogel scaffold to a PDMS chip for application in a heart-on-chip model.

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Abstract:Heart-on-chip (HoC) devices are used to model the human heart and test drugs or research heart diseases. Heart diseases are the leading cause of death in the world, causing 16% of the world’s total deaths in 2019. To integrate the heart vasculature an extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffold, such as hydrogel, is needed for support. Unfortunately, the hydrogel detaches from the walls of the microchip over time. In this study, a polydopamine (PDA) coating is used to increase the hydrophilicity of the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) so the hydrogel stays attached. However, in the current coating protocol, the PDA solution is prepared with a Tris-HCl buffer under alkaline conditions (pH 8.5), which is fatal for the heart cells. This research focused on lowering the pH of the coating solution in which the DA is prepared without losing the ability to adhere the hydrogel to the PDMS in the chip. Changing the alkaline Tris-HCl buffer to CM medium had the most positive impact on the micro engineered heart tissues (μEHTs), they never stopped beating after coating and encapsulation. Adding ammonium persulfate (AP) as oxidant seems to help the hydrogel stay attached in the chip for at least 4 days.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:TNW: Science and Technology
Programme:Biomedical Technology BSc (56226)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/92049
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