Project 1
Assessing cell transfection in an ultrasound-integrated fluidic system
(Prof. Jonathan Kopechek, BE)
Left: integrated transfection system with Arduino, single-element ultrasound transducers, and microfluidic device inside a 3D printed case. Upper Right: Illustration of fluidic transfection device. Lower Right: Concentric spiral design of fluidic channel and a representative PDMS-fabricated device.
Cell therapies often require intracellular delivery of plasmids or other compounds in order to transform the cells for therapeutic effect. However, there are safety concerns with viral approaches, and non-viral transfection techniques are generally slow and inefficient. To address this problem we have developed a unique ultrasound-integrated fluidic platform for rapid delivery of molecular compounds into cells [1]. Ultrasound and microbubbles can be utilized to transiently permeabilize cell membranes for rapid intracellular delivery of molecular compounds such as nucleic acids. Therefore, we have assembled a portable, cost-effective platform which integrates single-element ultrasound transducers, a PDMS-based fluidic device, and an Arduino controller inside a 3D printed PLA case (Fig. 1) [2]. In this project an undergraduate student will learn the design, fabrication, characterization, and optimization process of the fluidic devices in order to assess the consistency and efficacy of cell transfection in this platform. Students interested in BE, ME, ECE, ChE, Chem, or Physics would be excellent candidates.
References
[1] E.M. Murphy, M.C. Priddy, B.R. Janis, M.A. Menze, J.A. Kopechek. "Ultrasound-enhanced Molecular Delivery to Red Blood Cells in a Microfluidic System for Dry Storage," 2018 Biomedical Engineering Society conference.
[2] C.S. Centner, E.M. Murphy, C.M. Stivers, M.S. Burns, M.C. Priddy, B.R. Janis, M.A. Menze, J.A. Kopechek, "Development of a High-Performance Ultrasonic Flow System for Cell Transformation," IEEE Proceedings of the International Symposium on Signal Processing and Information Technology (2018).
