With the development of microfluidic chips, there are increasing attempts to integrate cell culture and biomaterial test functions into one chip to supplement experimental animal models [1]. In this study, we developed a simple and easy-to-handle immunogenicity-testing cell chip to evaluate the immunogenicity of biomaterials. On this chip, macrophages were introduced as immunogenicity indicators, and a micro-paper-based analytical device (PAD) was used for optical transducer. In the cell chamber of the developed cell chip, macrophages grow and react to foreign biomaterials. Immune-activated macrophages secrete hydrogen peroxide, which is then transferred to the PAD with single-finger actuation. The hydrogen peroxide molecules reaching the PAD detection zone react with the colorimetric detection substrate, resulting in a color that corresponds to the hydrogen peroxide concentration. With the developed testing chip, the immunogenicity of biomaterials can be determined before administration.
This work was supported by the Creative Materials Discovery Program (NRF-2019M3D1A1078943) and the Priority Research Centers Program (NRF-2019R1A6A1A11051471) funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea. HCY also acknowledges the support from the Technology Innovation Program (10051409) funded by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE, Korea).