Optimising hydrogel properties for a co-culture chip

The co-culture chip developed as part of the MaCuMBA-project comprises a diffusible wall which acts as both a barrier for adjacent marine cells and a pathway for chemical molecules produced by those cells sitting on this chip. First attempts using hydrogels as barrier material – namely PEG-DA and pHEMA – indicated that two major properties determine the choice of the hydrogel: swelling behaviour and diffusion rate. The first one determines the dimension of the wall while and after soaking up liquid; the second controls the flow and exchange of molecules which is crucial for successfully co-culturing different cell types.
The talk discusses the set of experiments undertaken to determine those two properties of the hydrogel pHEMA and presents the findings and decisions made for further development of the co-culture chip.