DISPOSABLE VS REUSABLE: PRACTICAL ASPECTS FROM END USERS AND REUSABILITY TEST OF THE BIOCHIP FOR ELECTROSTATIC MICROWELL-BASED SINGLE CELL TRAPPING AND CULTURING
Keywords:
Electrostatic microwell based biochip, single cell trapping, microfluidic device, reusable microfluidic device, algaeAbstract
Microfluidic technology has come in handy in single cell studies. Recently we have successfully constructed an alternative on-chip platform for single cell trapping and culturing using an electrostatic microwell trap. Although this type of device is considered disposable, it is of a great interest if, in practice, the biochip could be used multiple times to reduce cost. Here, we report our and our end users’ experiences in attempts to reuse the device, as well as the experimental results to demonstrate the extent of the reusability. It is found that flushing the device vigorously with water is an effective means to purge away trapped cells from the biochip. Autoclaving is a possible method to decontaminate the device. However, the single cell capturing efficiency of the biochip slightly declines but does not significantly deteriorate with the number of times it is repetitively autoclaved. The percentage of the single cells trapped goes down from 28.5 to 25.0 and 21.3, after sterilizing 5 and 10 times, respectively. It cannot be generally concluded as to whether the device is reusable. For instance, cleaned devices may acceptably be used in a classroom demonstration and for preliminary studies but perhaps not for experimental research. A further long term study on the biological effect on cell culture in a reused device may be required.
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