Disclosed herein are microfluidic devices that may be used to mimic human organ systems, in particular, pancreatic function, and methods of using same. In particular, disclosed are microfluidic devices that may include a first chamber having a plurality of pancreatic ductal epithelial cells (PDECs), a second chamber having a plurality of pancreatic islets, and a permeable membrane fluidly connecting the chambers. The disclosed devices and methods may be used for the study of pancreatic cell function, for the development of therapeutics, or for the development of personalized therapeutics wherein the cells of the device are obtained from an individual in need of such treatment.

The instant disclosure is directed to a method for vascularizing a pancreatic islet comprising culturing the pancreatic islet or β-cells with an endothelial cell comprising an exogenous nucleic acid encoding an ETV2 transcription factor under conditions wherein the endothelial cell expresses the ETV2 transcription factor. The instant disclosure is further directed to a method for making a vascularized β-cell organoid comprising culturing the pancreatic islet or β-cells with an endothelial cell comprising an exogenous nucleic acid encoding an ETV2 transcription factor under conditions wherein the endothelial cell expresses the ETV2 transcription factor. Disclosed also are vascularized islets and vascularized β-cell organoids produced by the methods of the instant disclosure, as well as methods for using the same.

The systems and methods of the present disclosure can be used to generate systems and models that are physiologically relevant to the human and animal system. These physiological conditions can be designed to mimic the actual human condition for cell differentiation and proliferation. The system and methods of this present disclosure allow the formation of an appropriate biomaterial to mimic that which exists in a human or animal scaffold. Utilizing 3D printing technology, a hydrogel scaffold can be printed at various resolution very close to human physiological geometry. Additionally, the architecture can be optimized for the selected application and appropriate cells can be seeded on the scaffold prior to testing.

A magnetic cell biocarrier combined with a powerless bioreactor system comprising a biocarrier, a powerless bioreactor, and a magnetic field device. The biocarrier can detach the cells through temperature regulation and can be adsorbed by the magnetic field device to stabilize at the bottom of the gooseneck cell culture tank; the powerless bioreactor comprises a microinfusion element, a culture fluid collection element, and a gooseneck cell culture tank; the internal space of the gooseneck cell culture tank is interconnected with the microinfusion element and the culture fluid collection element, the microinfusion element slowly injects fresh culture medium When the culture medium in the gooseneck cell culture tank is above an overflow position, the cell metabolites can be automatically discharged to the culture fluid collection element by the interconnected vessels to reduce the risk of cell contamination.

The present disclosure provides a membrane separation method of a cell suspension which can appropriately separate cells from debris, and a cell culture device. That is, membrane separation processing of the cell suspension is performed using a filtration membrane which includes an inlet-side opening formed on one surface and an outlet-side opening, which is formed on the other surface and communicates with the inlet-side opening, and in which the inlet-side opening and the outlet-side opening are disposed at positions deviated in a direction parallel to the surfaces of the membrane.

The present disclosure provides a membrane separation method of a cell suspension which can appropriately separate cells from debris, and a cell culture device. That is, membrane separation processing of the cell suspension is performed using a filtration membrane which includes an inlet-side opening formed on one surface and an outlet-side opening, which is formed on the other surface and communicates with the inlet-side opening, and in which the inlet-side opening and the outlet-side opening are disposed at positions deviated in a direction parallel to the surfaces of the membrane.

High-throughput column arrays of vascularized living parenchyma/tissue having pillars dispersed in specialized configurations and arrangements substantially vertically through the column to provide support, passive or active perfusion, and access to internal portions of tissue for analytical sampling needs, along with 3-D printing methods of manufacture and analytical screening methods employing the column arrays.

Methods and compositions for making bacteriocins are described in some embodiments herein. In some embodiments, pro-polypeptide comprising the bacteriocins in the desired ratios in cis, and separated by cleavage sited can be produced by a microbial cell comprising a nucleic acid encoding the pro-polypeptide. In some embodiments microfluidic devices and methods for making specified mixtures of antimicrobial peptides and/or bacteriocins are described.

The present invention provides a sperm sorting chip and a method for sorting sperm using the same. Said sperm sorting chip includes: a flow channel structure sequentially configured with a gradually diverging flow field region, a main flow channel, and a gradually converging main flow channel intercommunicated with each other from a first side end to a second side end; a fluid injection port, a semen injection port, and a semen extraction port separately located at the first side end and communicated with a main input channel of the gradual diverging flow field region; and a waste fluid outlet located at the second side end and communicated with the gradually converging main flow channel. The gradually diverging flow field region further includes a plurality of sub-input channels derived from the main input channel and converged into the main flow channel, and the plurality of sub-input channels have a gradually widening channel width at the junction with the main flow channel. By contrast, the gradually converging main flow channel has a gradually narrowing channel width toward the waste fluid outlet.

The invention discloses a bioreactor with a vessel defining an inner volume, agitation means and at least one addition tube, wherein a delivery orifice in the addition tube is located within the inner volume and a check valve is arranged in proximity of the delivery orifice for allowing flow of a fluid in the direction from the addition tube into the inner volume of the vessel and blocking flow in the reverse direction.