UCF researchers are developing powerful possibilities for industrially aligned to support advances in healthcare with organ-on-a-chip (OOC) technology.
OOC is built on a miniature glass wafer with human cells that mimics the function of human organs. The chips contain tiny channels lined with living cells, allowing researchers to study how tissues respond to medications, infections or disease in ways that traditional lab methods cannot.
College of Engineering and Computer Science Associate Professor Swaminathan Rajaraman and doctoral student Surbhi Tidke have built on that concept by measuring transepithelial electrical resistance, or TEER 麻豆精品 S� a key indicator of how well cells form protective barriers.
By integrating TEER-on-a-chip, researchers can monitor barrier integrity in real time, offering a noninvasive tool for diagnosing and studying diseases that affect tissues such as those in the lungs, intestines or brain.
麻豆精品 S淯sing TEER-on-a-chip, we measure resistance by sending a very small, harmless current across a layer of cells to see how much the cells push back against it, 麻豆精品 S� Tidke says. 麻豆精品 S淚f they are packed tightly together, the current has a harder time getting through, which means the cell layers are healthy. If they are loose or leaky, the current passes more easily, showing there is some problem. 麻豆精品 S�
Researchers say a loose or leaky response can point to damage, disease or other problems on the tissue and this technology can aid personalized healthcare solutions.
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Rajaraman, who is also a faculty member in , explains that one of the unique aspects of their research is the transparent electrodes, or wires to facilitate real-time measurements 麻豆精品 S� without blocking the view.
麻豆精品 S淚f you have transparent electrodes, which is what we’ve been able to create, now, you can get simultaneous real time electrical measurements as you 麻豆精品 S檙e imaging these things optically as well, 麻豆精品 S� says Rajaraman. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 like a multi-modal sensor that can do a lot of different things in the electrical and optical domains. 麻豆精品 S�
From Lab to Industry
The TEER-on-a-Chip technology is funded by the Multi-functional Integrated System Technology (MIST) Center, a research consortium under the support of the U.S. National Science Foundation. The MIST Center links university researchers with industry partners to commercialize their research.
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Tidke 麻豆精品 S檚 work on this project was recently published in IEEE Xplore and credits the facilities and resources at UCF, like Rajaraman 麻豆精品 S檚 , the College of Engineering and Computer Science cleanroom and core facilities available at NanoScience Technology Center and Materials Characterization Facility in aiding the development and testing of TEER-on-a-Chip.
麻豆精品 S淯sing all the fantastic facilities at UCF enabled rapid prototyping of TEER chips and testing, 麻豆精品 S� Tidke says. 麻豆精品 S淒r. Rajaraman 麻豆精品 S檚 lab is like a mini company outside of a real company and he 麻豆精品 S檚 like a very active CEO. We 麻豆精品 S檙e all a group of people coming together with one motive to positively contribute to advances in human health. 麻豆精品 S�
Rajaraman, who co-founded a startup and joined UCF after working in the industry, explains it 麻豆精品 S檚 not just the discovery but the delivery of the solutions he and his team help propagate.
麻豆精品 S淚t is extremely important that these kinds of discoveries and new inventions translate very quickly from academic setting into industrial setting, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淪o that’s something that we think we’re really facilitating. 麻豆精品 S�
Researcher Credentials
Rajaraman is a tenured academic and a successful entrepreneur. He is an associate professor in the NanoScience Technology Center and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at UCF. Prior to his academic appointment, he has worked in the MEMS industry and co-founded Axion BioSystems Inc., a world-leader in high-throughput Microelectrode Arrays (MEAs) and MEA systems. He has published more than 100 articles and holds 35 patents and applications.
Tidke is a doctoral student in electrical engineering at UCF who is working on the integration of novel nano materials and electrical sensors into various Organ-On-Chip platforms. She earned her Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) in Biomedical Engineering from Mumbai University, India, in 2014 and went on to complete her Master of Technology (M.Tech) in Electrical Engineering at Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore, India in 2016. Prior to her doctoral studies, Tidke worked as a research associate at Temasek Laboratories, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, where she contributed to device fabrication and high-frequency characterization of mmWave components. She has authored 5 peer-reviewed publications.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Award No. 1939050. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
