Simple fitting & connections
The most versatile cell culture chip
[OOC-TRNS-07]BE-Transflow
BE-Transflow is Beonchip’s most versatile cell culture platform. It allows the study of complex culture configurations by joining a culture well with a microfluidic channel via a porous membrane. This is the optimal device for Air Liquid Interface (ALI) culture, endothelium/epithelium barrier and crosstalk studies.
Main benefits
Easy to use- Biomimetic environment
2D and 3D culture
- Sterile
Dedicated to cell biology
Features
Easy to use
Be-Transflow is compatible with any type of optical microscopy and its slide format has been chosen for easy handling under a microscope.
Easy to connect
Be-Transflow is compatible with all Fluigent pressure-based flow controllers
No unspecific absorption
Unlike in other PDMS devices, Be -Doubleflow is made of lipophobic thermoplastic materials and does not present unspecific drug absorption issues. It allows immunohistochemistry with fluorescent detection
Cell recovery
The cell cultures used in the Be-Transflow can be easily recover for further experimentation.
Easy to implement
Be-transflow wells are positioned in standard positions of a 96 well plate for its use in automated microscopes. In addition, their volume is identical to the one of those wells in order to ease the transition to the transflow device.
Related applications
Culture models
Perform Air Liquid Interface (ALI) experiments on a 2D or 3D culture with automatic culture medium replacement for systems such as epithelial cultures, toxicity tests, absorption test and much more.
Create the perfect endothelium endothelium-epithelium barrier: Use the upper well for the 2D or 3D epithelial culture and seed the endothelial cells in the perfusable channel underneath. Most common applications are Blood Brain Barrieer (BBB), gut, skin, lung and many more.
Crosstalk studies (prototype): Explore the cross-talk of two cultures in an automated and simple way using the BE-Transflow option that connects two wells in the same channel. Most common application are indirect toxicity studies. This chip is a prototype and is available at a higher price than the normal BE-Transflow.
Applications
BE-Transflow has been designed with ALI in mind. Its an ideal chip for ALI culture and coculture research (skin, cornea, gut, lung). However, its simplicity to use makes it also a very useful tool for any coculture research and crosstalk experiments.
Epidermis/dermis coculture: Recreation of the epidermis and dermis in the well of the BE-Transflow device. In the upper part of the image and marked in blue are the nuclei of the keratinocytes (HEKa) forming the epidermis. The HEKa cells were cultured for 21 days in the ALI to create a mature epidermis. Underneath the epidermis we can see the fibroblasts in red embedded in a collagen matrix, mimicking the dermis. The scale bar marks 100 µm.
Bone on chip: BEOnchip participates in the Eurostars project BONAFIDE. This project is devoted to the production of a human bone-on-chip platform that will simulate bone growth, resorption and remodeling for future evaluation of (anti-osteoporosis) drugs and biomaterials (e.g. bone cements).
The culture well represents the catabolic side (bone resorption) where the osteoclasts rest in contact with a bonelike scaffold. The lower channel represents the anabolic side of the bone model. This channel is seeded with osteocytes and osteoblast that form a 2D tissue.
This tissue is mechanically stimulated by the controlled laminar flux applied in the channel, mimicking the physiological environment of the bone. The bone remodeling process is automatically analyzed using image analysis software and biomarker analysis.
Specifications
PERFORMANCE
| Height | Width | Length | Total volume | |
| Channel | 375 µm | 1.5 mm | 45 mm | 44 µL |
| Well | 6 mm | 5.7 mm | 5.7 mm | 195 µL |
| Inlet/outlet | 7 mm | UNF 1/4″ – 28 | UNF 1/4″ – 28 | 130 µL |
| Medium reservoir | 7 mm | 3.6 mm | 8.8 mm | 185 µL |
| Membrane pore size | 1 µm | 1 µm | 1 µm | 1 µm |
Expertise & resources
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Technical datasheets BE-Transflow datasheet Download
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Expert Reviews: Basics of Microfluidics How to reproduce active biomimetic stimulation in vitro? Read more
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Expert Reviews: Basics of Microfluidics Passive and active mechanical stimulation in microfluidic systems Read more
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Expert Reviews: Basics of Microfluidics Mimicking in-vivo environments: biochemical and biomechanical stimulation Read more
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Expert Reviews: Basics of Microfluidics Microfluidic chips: key applications Read more
