Presenter: Sabrina Su
Authors: Sabrina Su
Faculty Advisor: Jay Kim
Institution: University of Utah
Damaged optic nerves and abnormal pressures in the eye contribute to the development of glaucoma, which is a leading cause of blindness in senior citizens. Increased intraocular eye pressure (IOP) is directly related to a buildup of aqueous humor, the fluid within the eye. Aqueous fluid is regulated by a healthy network of trabecular meshwork cells (TM cells). TM cells control the drainage of aqueous humor, thereby governing the IOP. The quality and quantity of the TM network declines as humans age, permanently altering vision. Deterioration of the TM network consequence of mechanical, oxidative, etc. stress is currently a topic under investigation. We are interested in the studying the health of TM cells under constant shear stress resulting from aqueous flow. We are developing a system centered around a pneumatically actuated microvalve pump. This micropump system will be used in conjunction with a previously developed cornea organ chip to mimic flow of the aqueous humor across TM cells in the human eye. The micropump was designed with three lifting gate microvalves and fabricated from PDMS and a glass slide. Following a full characterization of the microvalve pump, the entire system will be prepped for an in vitro study. TM cells will be cultured on a cornea organ chip and the micropump system will be integrated with the organ chip and placed within the incubator. The micropump will cycle culture media through the organ chip to simulate aqueous flow within the eye. Through the characterization of the microvalve pump, we will be able to both quantify and control the shear stress TM cells experience throughout the course of the in vitro experiment. We will closely monitor the growth and health of the colony throughout the experiment in an effort to better understand and treat ocular diseases such as glaucoma.