Jiang Wensen, Lin Jiajia, Chen Alex H, Pan Jianwei, Liu Huinan
Department of Bioengineering, Materials Science and Engineering Program, Stem Cell Center.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
Regen Biomater. 2019 Feb;6(1):39-48. doi: 10.1093/rb/rby026. Epub 2018 Dec 24.
A portable device was designed and constructed for studying the properties of biomaterials in physiologically relevant fluids under controllable flow conditions that closely simulate fluid flow inside the body. The device can fit entirely inside a cell incubator; and, thus, it can be used directly under standard cell culture conditions. An impedance-driven pump was built in the sterile flow loop to control the flow rates of fluids, which made the device small and portable for easy deployment in the incubator. To demonstrate the device functions, magnesium (Mg) as a representative biodegradable material was tested in the flow device for immersion degradation under flow versus static conditions, while the flow module was placed inside a standard cell incubator. The flow rate was controlled at 0.17 ± 0.06 ml/s for this study; and, the flow rate is adjustable through the controller module outside of incubators for simulating the flow rates in the ranges of blood flow in human artery (0.05 ∼0.43 ml/s) and vein (0.02 ∼0.08 ml/s). Degradation of Mg under flow versus static conditions was characterized by measuring the changes of sample mass and thickness, and Mg ion concentrations in the immersion media. Surface chemistry and morphology of Mg after immersion under flow versus static conditions were compared. The portable impedance-driven flow device is easy to fit inside an incubator and much smaller than a peristaltic pump, providing a valuable solution for studying biomaterials and implants (e.g. vascular or ureteral stents) in body fluids under flow versus static conditions with or without cells.
设计并制造了一种便携式设备，用于在可控流动条件下研究生物材料在生理相关流体中的特性，该条件能紧密模拟体内的流体流动。该设备可完全置于细胞培养箱内，因此可直接在标准细胞培养条件下使用。在无菌流动回路中内置了一个阻抗驱动泵来控制流体流速，这使得该设备体积小且便于携带，易于在培养箱中部署。为了展示该设备的功能，以镁（Mg）作为代表性的可生物降解材料，在流动装置中对其在流动与静态条件下的浸泡降解进行了测试，同时将流动模块置于标准细胞培养箱内。本研究中流速控制在0.17±0.06毫升/秒；并且，通过培养箱外的控制器模块可调节流速，以模拟人体动脉（0.05～0.43毫升/秒）和静脉（0.02～0.08毫升/秒）内的血流速度范围。通过测量样品质量和厚度的变化以及浸泡介质中镁离子的浓度，对流动与静态条件下镁的降解情况进行了表征。比较了流动与静态条件下浸泡后镁的表面化学和形态。这种便携式阻抗驱动流动装置易于安装在培养箱内，且比蠕动泵小得多，为在有或无细胞的流动与静态条件下研究生物材料和植入物（如血管或输尿管支架）在体液中的情况提供了一种有价值的解决方案。
