Low cost micro-platform for culturing and stimulation of cardiomyocyte tissue

This paper reports a low cost rapid prototyping platform to culture cardiomyocyte tissue with embedded biocompatible stimulation electrodes based on micro-structured conductive PDMS. The polymeric platform was fabricated using conventional soft lithography based on a non-photolithographic method to obtain molds, combined with the inclusion of micro-structured polymeric electrodes in the replicas. Device fabrication, electrical characterizations of the conductive polymer, as well as mechanical response of cultured tissue under spontaneous and stimulated activity are presented. Through this method, synchronization and coupling bio-electromechanical activity of different cell aggregates has been observed.