Characterizing Failure Modes in Continuous Flow Microfluidic Pumps

Abstract

Microphysiological systems provide novel platforms for drug testing and therapeutic target discovery, through their three-dimensional morphologies that mimic specific tissues and organs. In concurrence with these systems, microfluidic channels allow for a sufficient supply of nutrients to the cell culture; by creating pressure gradients across the system, they allow for fluid flow through the tissue medium. A microfluidic pump, Microheart, for continuous flow through microphysiological systems was presented in Offeddu, 2021. The design introduced a novel, low-cost method of delivering cell culture media at low flow rates. While the Microheart pumps in practice have qualitatively provided an indication of media flow through microphysiological systems, the yield rate of production, and efficacy of their function have not been fully characterized. The following study explores the potential failure modes of the Microheart pump, and characterizes the pump consistency over the standard time of function with cell cultures.