Monitoring single heart cell biology using lab-on-a- chip technologies

Cheng, Wei (2009) Monitoring single heart cell biology using lab-on-a- chip technologies. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Abstract

There has been considerable interest in developing microsensors integrated within lab-on-a-chip structures for the analysis of single cells; however, substantially less
work has focused on developing "active" assays, where the cell‘s metabolic and physiological function is itself controlled on-chip. The heart attack is considered the largest cause of mortality and morbidity in the western world. Dynamic information during metabolism from a single heart cell is difficult to obtain. There is a demand for the development of a robust and sensitive analytical system that will enable us to study dynamic metabolism at single-cell level to provide intracellular information on a single-cell scale in different metabolic conditions (such as healthy or simulated unhealthy conditions). The system would
also provide medics and clinicians with a better understanding of heart disease, and even help to find new therapeutic compounds.

Towards this objective, we have developed a novel platform based on five individually addressable microelectrodes, fully integrated within a microfluidic system, where the cell is electrically stimulated at pre-determined rates and real-time ionic and metabolic fluxes from active, beating single heart cells are measured. The device is comprised of one pair of pacing microelectrodes, used for field-stimulation of the cell, and three other microelectrodes, configured as an enzyme-modified lactate microbiosensor, used to measure the amounts of lactate produced by the heart cell. The device also enables simultaneous in-situ microscopy, allowing optical measurements of single-cell contractility and fluorescence measurements of
extracellular pH and cellular Ca2+ from the single beating heart cell at the same time, providing details of its electrical and metabolic state.

Further, we have developed a robust microfluidic array, wherein a sensor array is integrated within an array of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chambers, enabling the
efficient manipulation of single heart cells and real-time analysis without the need to regenerate either working electrodes or reference electrodes fouled by any
extracellular constituents. This sensor array also enables simultaneous electrochemical and optical measurements of single heart cells by integrating an enzyme-immobilized microsensor. Using this device, the fluorescence measurements of intracellular pH were obtained from a single beating heart cell whose electrical and
metabolic states were controlled. The mechanism of released intracellular [H+] was investigated to examine extracellular pH change during contraction. In an attempt to
measure lactate released from the electrically stimulated contracting cell, the cause of intracellular pH change is discussed. The preliminary investigation was made on the
underlying relationship between intracellular pH and lactate from single heart cells in controlled metabolic states.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Single cell, microfluidic, metabolism, lactate
• Subjects: Q Science > Q Science (General)
• Colleges/Schools: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering
• Supervisor's Name: Cooper, Prof. Jon
• Date of Award: 2009
• Depositing User: Mr W Cheng
• Unique ID: glathesis:2009-908
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 09 Jul 2009
• Last Modified: 10 Dec 2012 13:27
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/908