Long-term organotypic brain slices cultured on collagen-based microcontact prints: A perspective for a brain-on-a-chip.

J Neurosci Methods

Laboratory of Psychiatry and Experimental Alzheimer's Research, Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria. Electronic address:

Published: November 2023


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Article Abstract

Organotypic brain slices are three-dimensional 150 µm-thick sections of a postnatal day 10 mouse and can be cultured for several weeks in vitro. In such brain slices the complex cellular connections are preserved with a high viability. These brain slices can be connected to collagen-loaded microcontact prints to develop a simple brain-on-a-chip model. Using the microcontact printing technique, many peptides or proteins can be printed onto a semipermeable membrane and linked to brain slices. On these microcontact prints, brain-derived nerve fibers grow out, or microglia can get activated and migrate out, or also new brain vessels can be formed. Such a brain-on-a-chip model may allow to develop new drugs or a diagnostic method for neurodegenerative diseases.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jneumeth.2023.109979DOI Listing

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