Measuring barrier function in a gut-on-chip

Here, we present a novel, cleanroom-free way of integrating electrodes in a typical poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) organ-on-chip (OoC) for real-time measurement of the barrier function during cell culture utilizing impedance spectroscopy. With the proposed configuration, it is possible to multiplex both the electrodes and the OoCs in one device. To illustrate the applicability of the new method, a PDMS device with three parallel OoC units was fabricated and lined with Caco-2 cells mimicking a gut-on-chip. We monitored and observed the formation, as well as disruption of the cell barrier during cell culture