Robust Formation of an Epithelial Layer of Human Intestinal Organoids in a Polydimethylsiloxane-Based Gut-on-a-Chip Microdevice

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is a silicone polymer that has been predominantly used in a human organ-on-a-chip microphysiological system. The hydrophobic surface of a microfluidic channel made of PDMS often results in poor adhesion of extracellular matrix (ECM) as well as cell attachment. The surface modification by plasma or UV/ozone treatment in a PDMS-based device produces the hydrophilic surface that allows robust ECM coating and the reproducible attachment of human intestinal immortalized cell lines. However, these surface-activating methods have not been successful in forming a monolayer of the biopsy-derived primary organoid epithelium. Several existing protocols to grow human intestinal organoid cells in a PDMS microchannel are not always reproducibly operative due to the limited information. Here, we report an optimized methodology that enables robust and reproducible attachment of intestinal organoid epithelium in a PDMS-based gut-on-a-chip. Among several reported protocols, we optimized a method by performing polyethyleneimine-based surface functionalization followed by the glutaraldehyde crosslinking to activate the PDMS surface. Moreover, we discovered that the post-functionalization step contributes to provide uniform ECM deposition that allows to produce a robust attachment of dissociated intestinal organoid epithelium in a PDMS-based microdevice. We envision that our optimized protocol may disseminate an enabling methodology to advance the integration of human organotypic cultures and a human organ-on-a-chip for patient-specific disease modeling.