| AVS 54th International Symposium | |
| Biomaterial Interfaces | Thursday Sessions |
| Session BI-ThP |
| Session: | Biomaterial Interfaces Poster Session |
| Presenter: | K.A. Wilson, University of Central Florida |
| Authors: | K.A. Wilson, University of Central Florida M. Das, University of Central Florida P. Molnar, University of Central Florida K.J. Wahl, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory R.J. Colton, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory J.J. Hickman, University of Central Florida |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
The boom in the semiconductor manufacturing industry of the past three decades has yielded a vast array of techniques for fabricating devices with micro to nano-scale features. Concomitantly, advances in biotechnology have opened new avenues for the application of these technologies in the form of gene and protein arrays, lab-on-a-chip devices and biological micro-electromechanical systems (Bio-MEMS). To date, application of these technologies has largely focused on the study of biomolecules and single cells or cell types. However, these technologies also hold great promise for the study of complex cellular and tissue interactions that are of critical importance when developing new drug therapies for disease and catastrophic injury. A tissue type of broad interest with regard to drug development and basic cell biology is skeletal muscle, which is affected by a variety of pathological conditions such as Parkinson’s, ALS, and muscular dystrophy. For this reason we have developed a Bio-MEMS device based on microfabricated silicon cantilevers for the controlled, real-time interrogation of embryonic rat myotubes as a high-throughput test bed for drug discovery and basic science. The cantilevers were fabricated using standard photolithographic and micromachining techniques. The surfaces of the cantilevers were then modified using an amine-terminated alkylsilane SAM (DETA) to improve cellular adhesion, growth and differentiation. Dissociated embryonic rat myocytes were cultured for 7-10 days in a defined serum-free medium until contractile myotubes had formed. Monitoring and interrogation of the myotubes was accomplished using an AFM detection system of our own design, which consisted of a microscope, photodiode laser, position sensitive detector, field stimulation chamber, and a computer with data acquisition and analysis software. This simple system allows the real-time, high-throughput analysis of the physiological properties of the contracting myotubes. With this system we have shown the ability to selectively control the frequency and magnitude of myotube contraction as well as induce and observe physiological phenomena such as tetanus and fatigue. Contraction forces were calculated using a modified Stoney’s equation for bending of a cantilever due to thin film stress. Ongoing work will allow the selective patterning and co-culture of neuronal cell types with myotubes for studying the neuromuscular junction and in vitro biological circuits.