Fluidic force microscopy to access the interactions between gaz/liquid and biological interfaces
Résumé
The interactions between gaz/liquid interfaces (bubbles) and cells are involved in many
bioprocesses. For example in bioreactors, breathing microorganisms interact with their
growth medium but also with the gases present in the medium under the form of bub-
bles. While many studies are dedicated to the modelling of such processes, none of them
have yet looked into the interactions between the cells and the bubbles. Thus questioning
these interactions is highly original, and provides relevant data that can be used in many
biotechnological applications. But accessing such interactions presents several technological
challenges, the main one being to produce microsized bubbles, stable over time. In this pre-
sentation, we show recent developments in which we produce stable bubbles using FluidFM
technology that combines AFM with microfluidic AFM probes1. In this system, a micro-
sized microfluidic channel is integrated in an AFM cantilever and connected to a pressure
controller system, thus creating a continuous and closed fluidic conduit that can be filled
with air, while the tool can be immersed in a liquid environment. An aperture at the end
of the cantilever allows the air to be pushed out of the probe into the liquid, resulting in
the creation of a bubble. Force feedback is then ensured by a standard AFM laser detection
system that measures the deflection of the cantilever and thus, interactions can be probed
directly with cells. Finally, the bubbles produced using this technique can be functionalized
with surfactants, which allows to modulate the interactions between the bubble and cells.
Origine | Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s) |
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Origine | Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s) |
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