We report a new approach to generate synthetic axons for in-vitro myelination culture of Schwann cells using high aspect-ratio (HAR) PDMS microfibers. In our approach, a microdevice containing ordered no-crossing suspended PDMS micropillars was first fabricated by using softlithography technique. Next, by applying a mechanical force to the device, the PDMS micropillars can be elongated to become microfibers > 100 um long with small diameters (< 20 μm). By changing the force, PDMS microfibers of different lengths and diameters may be obtained. Due to the biocompatible and optical transparency nature of PDMS, it is straight-forward to perform cell culture and microscopic analysis with the device. The microfiber device is also specially designed in a way that the myelin sheathes are easy to observe with a conventional microscope. We conducted S42 Schwann cell culture on the device and observed the cells form myelin-like cell morphology at the microfibers.
Date:
2019-10
Relation:
23rd International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences, MicroTAS 2019. 2019 Oct:288-289.
