Fabrication of Cost-Effective Glass-Bottom Cell-Culture Device using Fused Deposition Modeling: New Avenue for Bioimaging

Achieving high-resolution 4D imaging (XYZt) of larger areas is paramount for comprehensively characterizing engineered tissues and disease models. Yet, the high cost and optical requirements of glass-bottom devices, which are essential for confocal microscopy, often hinder such advanced imaging. This study presents an innovative method for crafting cost-effective microfluidic devices to overcome this challenge. Diverging from traditional soft lithography techniques, which necessitate cleanroom facilities and costly materials, our approach harnesses Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) to fabricate glass-bottom polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) devices seamlessly incorporating a 0.17 mm glass coverslip optimized for laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM). Using glass-embedded acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) templates, we achieve precise spiral channel fabrication in PDMS, thereby substantially slashing associated costs, including installation, infrastructure, and maintenance. The resultant device boasts numerous functionalities, facilitating diverse applications such as cell culture, reagent mixing, morphology monitoring, and on-chip immunoassays. Moreover, we showcase its versatility by demonstrating its efficacy for 4D calcium imaging using a resonance scanner in LSCM, employing HMC3 and MCF-7 cell lines. Beyond its cost-effectiveness, this biochip platform is suitable for applications such as toxicity analysis, drug screening, and real-time monitoring. This advancement promises new avenues for comprehensive bioimaging research, offering affordable and accessible solutions for studying complex biological systems. By democratizing access to high-resolution imaging, our method paves the way for a deeper understanding and characterization of diverse biological phenomena. Furthermore, its cost-effectiveness and ease of fabrication hold promise for adoption across various research fields, empowering researchers to explore biological processes further.