Introduction

A sealed device for the perfused culture of cells or bacteria both in suspension and in 2D or 3D adhesion, for the realization of perfused solutions containing parts derived from cells (for example, micro/ nanovesicles), or biological molecules (for example, proteins or isolated DNA) or even bioactive chemical compounds (for example, drugs).

Technical features

The device consists of a system hosting several culture/dilution chambers, independent of each other, extractable and achievable with different diameters/sizes. The extractability allows easy seeding of cells on both sides of the membrane, and the possibility of reusing the body of the device by replacing the used culture chambers with new chambers and sterilising the resulting device again. The chambers can accommodate a membrane, permeable or semipermeable type with different porosities or non-permeable, composed of different materials that separate the culture chamber into two hemichambers. By appropriately choosing the material and porosity of the membranes, the two hemichambers can be interconnected or independent. The technology has a TRL 3.

Possible Applications

• Can be used for the research and analysis of bioactive molecules in the biological, biochemical and chemical, pharmacological and toxicological fields;
• Applicable in all those situations characterized by the need to optically inspect and/or electrically measure interactions between two liquids that penetrate two sides of a membrane and that contain vital biological material.

Advantages

• The membrane extraction from the perfusion chamber is possible several time without damage;
• Low-cost mass production by injection moulding of plastics and assembly by gluing;
• Modularity of the culture chambers and the operative conditions;
• Easiness of chamber opening/closing of each chamber;
• Optical accessibility.