(1) 3D print a 14 mL culture tube in at least one material. Culture a bacterial strain of your choice in this tube and compare the growth rate (optical density) over time versus a polystyrene control tube. Ideally use a strain featuring antibiotic resistance and culture in the presence of an antibiotic.
Tube and cap design files: http://metafluidics.com/devices/14-ml-culture-tube/
Extra credit: Culture multiple combinations of tube materials and strains, comparing growth rates for each against polystyrene.
(2a) Design a milli- or micro-fluidic 'artificial gut' or other 'organ-on-a-chip' device to be utilized, at a minimum, for cell culture. Feel free to design your device in 2D-CAD software or vector drawing tool (e.g. Adobe Illustrator, AutoCAD) or 3D design tool (e.g. Rhino, SolidWorks).
Rhino (for Mac): https://www.rhino3d.com/
Example designs:
http://metafluidics.com/devices/x-mixer/
http://metafluidics.com/devices/air-pocket-generator-droplet-generator/
(2b) Fabricate your device, or at least one component of your device. Document the following aspects of fabrication and function in your wiki:
What features of your organ are you attempting to emulate? How is your device intended to function? Were you able to fabricate your device? Which components? Which parts 'worked' and which ones didn't? What will you aim to improve for your next iteration of design + build? Please include photos / screen shots of your digital designs, fabrication process, and final structures!
An example protocol for fabricating an 'organ-on-a-chip': http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~biolines/publications/NatProtoc-13-Huh-protocol.pdf
(2c) Culture the organism from (1) in your milli- or micro-fluidic device. Run a negative control in a device with liquid media only. Collect the liquid culture from your device (+/- bacteria) and plate in the presence of an antibiotic. Report colonies for the +/- experiments.
(3) Share your 'final' device designs on 'Metafluidics' (www.metafluidics.com), including Bill of Materials, assembly instructions, and any associated hardware. Irrespective of how far you get in (2), please share your latest iteration! You can always update your device later.
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