High-speed mechano-active multielectrode array for investigating rapid stretch effects on cardiac tissue

Matthias Imboden (), Etienne Coulon, Alexandre Poulin, Christian Dellenbach, Samuel Rosset, Herbert Shea and Stephan Rohr ()
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Matthias Imboden: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Etienne Coulon: University of Bern
Alexandre Poulin: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Christian Dellenbach: University of Bern
Samuel Rosset: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Herbert Shea: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Stephan Rohr: University of Bern

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Systematic investigations of the effects of mechano-electric coupling (MEC) on cellular cardiac electrophysiology lack experimental systems suitable to subject tissues to in-vivo like strain patterns while simultaneously reporting changes in electrical activation. Here, we describe a self-contained motor-less device (mechano-active multielectrode-array, MaMEA) that permits the assessment of impulse conduction along bioengineered strands of cardiac tissue in response to dynamic strain cycles. The device is based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) cell culture substrates patterned with dielectric actuators (DEAs) and compliant gold ion-implanted extracellular electrodes. The DEAs induce uniaxial stretch and compression in defined regions of the PDMS substrate at selectable amplitudes and with rates up to 18 s−1. Conduction along cardiomyocyte strands was found to depend linearly on static strain according to cable theory while, unexpectedly, being completely independent on strain rates. Parallel operation of multiple MaMEAs provides for systematic high-throughput investigations of MEC during spatially patterned mechanical perturbations mimicking in-vivo conditions.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-08757-2

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