Tumor on a Chip (2022-23)

Rivero, Santiago; Anand, Priscilla; Saunders, Tiffany; Healey, Gabrielle; Sanborn, Madison

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Tumor on a Chip (2022-23)

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Neuroblastoma (NB) is a form of cancer that metastasizes in the lymph nodes, liver and bone marrow mainly affecting young pediatric patients, yielding a low survival rate of 50% over a five-year period. This pathological condition has a high level of diversity and heterogeneity amongst the diagnosed patients causing difficulty in the progression of treatment development. There is a need for the research and development of methods that allow for detailed in-vitro tumor modeling to inform personalized therapeutic drug delivery options that can help tackle the issue of tumor diversity amongst patients. Currently, the Coburn Lab at WPI utilizes multilayered scaffold stacks made from silk fibroin and cultures them with cells to model a solid tumor. A previous MQP team developed a fluidic bioreactor as an attempt to create a better modeling system, but there were issues with keeping the scaffolds in place. The team aimed to create a better tumor modeling method by designing a fluidic chip device that houses a scaffold stack with double-interfaced flow aiming to closely model a physiologic tumor microenvironment. The device setup included a five layer fluidic chip, media recycling chamber and a peristaltic pump. Through testing the team concluded that the microfluidic device better addressed the client needs of increased handleability.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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