20210708 microfluidics

PDMS

We made a new batch of PDMS. We made another one of Thomas' 25 um chip and then the whole 50 um wafer.

- Used 50g of PDMS and 5g of curing agent. This was too much PDMS, can probably use 40g PDMS and 4g curing agent next time.

The chip from Monday (05.07.2021) that we soaked in hexane collapsed after we plasma treated it and placed it on the glass. The chip was a little wonky so it may be that the design itself was a little wonky as well. For next time we will try soaking the chips in hexane, then ethanol and then water to manage the deswelling in a more controlled manner by soaking the chips in decreasingly soluble solutions.

Collagen

We made a new batch of collagen to coat one of the chips after plasma cleaning it.

Passaging

There was mold in both the flasks today, a lot in one of the flask and a little in the other flask. The flask with a lot of mold was discarded after washing it with bleach. The flask with a little mold was rinsed with PBS, cleaned by using the vacuum and then trypsinized. We kept 1 mL of cells in a new flask of a different brand and filled it with 12 mL of medium. We used 1 mL of cells and CO2 independent medium to inject into the chip coated with collagen. The flask was then discarded after washing it with bleach.

Injecting cells into the chip

After coating the chip with collagen we waited for one hour. Then we rinsed the chip with PBS using the syringe pump and the MUX. Then we let the chip air dry for about one hour while we prepared the cells. Then we injected the cells with the syringe pump and the MUX. We then rinsed the MUX with water and ethanol. Then we used the syringe pump and the MUX to inject the CO2 independent medium and started a timelapse. Turned on the temperature control unit.