BioClockBot: An Automatic Liquid Handling Robot for Circadian Rhythm Testing in Tissue Engineering Research

Presenter

Soumya Vadicharla

Campus

UMass Amherst

Sponsor

Meghan Huber, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, UMass Amherst

Schedule

Session 2, 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM [Schedule by Time][Poster Grid for Time/Location]

Location

Poster Board A89, Campus Center Auditorium, Row 5 (A81-A100) [Poster Location Map]

Abstract

With the increased demand for organ transplants and a shortage of organ donors, tissue engineering is a promising solution. Engineered tissue can create whole organs needed for transplants or tissue grafts, such as skin grafts which can be used in the clinical treatment of skin loss from burn wounds. It is well established that biological tissue function and health are significantly influenced by circadian (24hr) rhythms. Yet, current tissue models used in tissue engineering research, product development, and drug discovery do not consider circadian rhythms, mainly due to the impracticality of manually maintaining tissue cultures with precisely timed delivery of stimuli daily for weeks.  

To overcome this challenge, we aim to develop a robot capable of inducing and maintaining circadian rhythms in tissue cultures. One key function of the robot is to replenish culture media, a nutrient-rich liquid essential for supporting cell health and growth in the tissue, sustaining the culture over weeks. To perform this function, we designed a low-cost six-channel peristaltic pump capable of delivering and extracting media from the individual wells of a six-well culture plate. Low cost was achieved by using off-the-shelf electronics and 3D printed components. Reliability testing will determine whether the pump can accurately deliver and extract small solution volumes at predetermined times. 

Ultimately, this research will introduce lab automation tools to enhance biomedical research by uncovering the role of biological rhythms in tissue engineering and enhancing the reproducibility and transparency of tissue culture experiments.

Keywords

Tissue Engineering, Lab Automation, Circadian Rhythms, Liquid Handling

Research Area

Engineering

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