Magnetically Actuated Cell Culture Platform for Controlling High-Throughput Cyclic Strain

Cells efficiently manage various mechanical inputs, converting them into biochemical outputs to regulate function. Mechanobiologists aim to harness this capacity by developing platforms that mimic physiological mechanical environments. Current commercial and research-based dynamic cell culture platforms rely on external force generators to control substrate deformation or translation. However, this tends to make the systems bulky, and can sacrifice throughput and adaptability. Thus, this work presents the advancement of magnetic-polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) cell culture systems to precisely control the mechanical strain environment of 2D and 3D cell cultures with multiple high-throughput embodiments. First, an indirect 3D fabrication technique is utilized to develop high-fidelity, deformable microporous magnetic composite material for high-throughput cyclic straining of a 3D hydrogel. Second, a magnetic PDMS membrane is developed for 2D cell culture to mimic the complex and nonhomogeneous mechanical environment cells experience in vivo. The proposed advancements can significantly shift cell culture technologies by leveraging magnetic responsive materials to develop dynamic bioreactor systems with diverse interfaces and high throughput capabilities, enabling precise control over cellular environments with diverse strain profiles and gradients for more sophisticated cell behavior and differentiation studies.