Placenta Model

Automated molecular transport experimentsAutomoated and parallelized cell culture platform for long-term cell perfusion

Completely automated platform

Less manual work and longer experiments

Independent microenvironments

Adjust the requirements for each side of the membrane

Time-resolved results

Unravel the evolution of molecular transport

Placenta model: an introduction

The use of barrier models, such as a placenta model, blood-brain barrier in the brain or air-blood barrier in lung models, is gaining momentum. These models allow researchers to study molecular transport and, in some cases, replicate complex interactions at the interfaces of organs and visualise subtle queues that are easy to miss when studying whole organisms.

But increased resolution usually also means increased complexity, and these systems can easily become difficult to reproduce anywhere else but at the lab where they were conceived.

Reproducibility and robustness are crucial topics to consider when choosing a technology to perform experiments with, so our team developed a platform that encompasses and automates all necessary functionalities of a barrier model experiment, in this case, focusing on the molecular transport between mother and fetus in a placenta model.

Placenta model Setup

The placenta model has two sides: mother and fetus. Each side is composed of:
  1.  a recirculation system to perfuse the cells continuously, with a fail-safe mechanism in case of clogging;
  2. a temperature controller to keep everything at 37ºC;
  3. O2 sensors to monitor the microenvironment;
  4. Sample collector for automated and time-resolved collection;
  5. It can plug in any cross-membrane chip connecting both sides;


The schematic below represents the mother side of the placenta model, and the working principle of the recirculation and collection. The fetus side is exactly the same, but parameters can be adjusted to better mimic the fetus development.
placenta model schematics

The control of the functionalities is centralised in a dedicated software.

References
Featured image: Mouse-Fetus and placenta, 2008. Wei Hsu, Shang-Yi Chiu, Lessons on Life from SENP2 Sedwick C PLoS Biology Vol. 6, No. 12, e312 doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060312

Compatibility and Applications

Our placenta model platform can be used as a barrier model to study molecular transport in other applications, such as:

Gut-on-a-chip

Gut-on-a-chip pack

Intestinal cells coculture under flow, mimicking the gut physiology

✓ All microfluidic pieces included, quick and easy assembly

✓ Dynamic culture conditions

✓ Advanced in viro/ex vivo

Gut-on-chip

small intestine villi inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease model

Automatically collect important markers of IBD in a relevant in vitro model

✓ Uncover cytokine profile changes in time

✓ Mimic pathological conditions of IBD

✓ Tailor sample volume to your analysis

Inflammatory bowel disease model

Blood-brain barrier on a chip mouse cappillaries

Blood-brain Barrier on Chip

Plug-and-play instrument pack for long term BBB on a chip study

✓ Relevant microenvironment

✓ Automatized organ-on-chip perfusion

✓ Plug-and-play microfluidic platform

Blood-brain Barrier on Chip

liver-on-chip model mouse tissue

Liver-on-a-chip model

Mimic the liver microenvironment in long term experiments

✓ Improve your reproducibility with physiological culturing conditions

✓ Automated and controlled supply of nutrients in a stable flow

✓ Test different conditions at the same time

Liver-on-chip

lung-cells

Lung-on-a-chip model pack

Perform lung research in a physiologically relevant microenvironment

✓ Culture your lung cells in a physiological air-liquid interface

✓ Continuous and controlled supply of nutrients in a stable flow

✓ Stop losing your cell experiment due to clogging

Lung-on-a-chip

And many more! 

Flow-cells-for-organ-on-chips-systems
References
a. Adapted from: Huh, D.; Matthews, B.D.; Mammoto, A.; Montoya-Zavala, M.; Hsin, H.Y.; Ingber, D.E. Reconstituting organ-level lung functions on a chip. Science 2010328, 1662–1668. 
b. Designed internally

Placenta model recirculation System

The technical specifications of the pump and valves of the recirculation system for the placenta model are:

CharacteristicsSpecifications
Accuracy+/- 2.5 mbar
Flow rates0-5ml/min depending on flow sensors
Air consumptionfew ml/min
Response time140 ms
Settling time2750 ms
Overshoot0.12 mbar
Recirculation BridgeInternal volume: 4 ml/loop

Automated sampler

Characteristics Specifications
Number of samples Up to 20 samples per side
Volume of collection vial 1,5 to 2 ml Eppendorfs

O2 sensors

Components Technical specifications
Wetted Material PTFE
Dimensions 10x10x10 cm (control unit) 3x1x1 cm (sensing unit)
Admissible Flow rates 1-100 µL/min
Accessible Oxygen Levels 0-20 %DO
Stability of the control +/- 0.5 %DO/td>
Dynamic range of control 0.5% DO / min
pH range 6-8 pH
Stability of the control +/- 0.5 pH
placenta model platform

Frequently asked questions

How many chips can we run at the same time?

Currently, the platform can hold only one cross-membrane chip.

The platform was designed to host most types of the chip, commercial or home-made, with the right adapters. So the membrane tech specifications depend on your choice of material.

No, the placenta model platform was designed to be independent of the incubator.

No, the platform was designed to host most chips, whether commercial or home-made, with the right adapters.

No, we provide the fluidic circuit and automation to run a variety of barrier model experiments with this platform. However, the biological part is out of our scope. You will need to develop and culture your cells yourself and we can help you add your biological model to the platform.

eu_funded_en
Logo_Lifesaver-Microfluidics-Innovation-Center
micro4nano European project logo - microfluidics innovation center
logo-actions-marie-curie_0-300x223

Funding and Support

The LIFESAVER and Micro4Nano projects helped develop this instrument. These projects are funded by the European Union’s H2020-LC-GD-2020-3, grant agreement no. 101036702 (LIFESAVER) and H2020-MSCA-RISE-2020, grant agreement no. 101007804 (Micro4Nano).

Products & Associated Accessories

Main-Logo-MIC-PURPLE

Talk to
our experts