(521c) Mammalian Cells Embedded in Alginate Beads as Environmental Toxicity Sensors

Environmental monitoring is a critical mission of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers due to its commitment to support not only the soldiers but also maintain the environment on military lands and installations. The detection of contaminants present in the environment, specifically water resources, is vital to ensure the safety of soldiers at forward base locations and to promote the sustainable usage of military lands. Therefore, robust and sensitive detection mechanisms are required for screening applications that provide rapid environmental assessment. To this end, we are developing environmental sensors that utilize a microfluidic device containing alginate beads embedded with living mammalian cells. Cell-based sensors provide physiologically relevant responses that can report the real-time effects of toxins on major organ systems (e.g., liver, kidney). Encapsulation within the alginate hydrogel provides a three-dimensional environment that more closely replicates the in situ tissue organization as opposed to a typical two-dimensional monolayer in adherent cell culture. This encapsulation method allows for dynamic co-cultures because the different cell types remain discrete populations within the beads. We envision creating organ specific beads that can be interconnected within a multicompartmentalized microfluidic device to mimic a total body response to the contaminant. Such devices can then be integrated into existing portable detection platforms currently under development.