College - Author 1
College of Engineering
Department - Author 1
Biomedical Engineering Department
Degree Name - Author 1
BS in Biomedical Engineering
College - Author 2
College of Engineering
Department - Author 2
Biomedical Engineering Department
Degree - Author 2
BS in Biomedical Engineering
College - Author 3
College of Engineering
Department - Author 3
Biomedical Engineering Department
Degree - Author 3
BS in Biomedical Engineering
Date
3-2021
Primary Advisor
Christopher Heylman, College of Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Department
Additional Advisors
Britta Berg-Johansen, College of Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Department
Abstract/Summary
In developing a model to test anti-tumor drugs, Dr. Christopher Heylman’s lab requires the ability to culture cells in a hypoxic environment. The purpose of this project was to make this possible. Funding for this project comes from the Biomedical Engineering Department, the Hannah-Forbes Fund, and Dr. Heylman’s lab. The chamber must be able to reach a user-defined oxygen concentration and hold that concentration for 48 hours while creating an environment conducive to cell culture. Importantly, the chamber must also be sterilizable and cleanable for repeated use. While several products exist to create hypoxic environments for cell culture, they are either too expensive or too simple. The timeline of this project has been largely dictated by the BMED senior project class and its deadlines, culminating in the Final Report and Presentation given on March 9th. Several different ideas were generated to meet the customer requirements in various ways. The final design of the chamber is a rectangular box with a detachable door that is held onto the chamber by 3 latches. The door uses a rubber gasket with neoprene to prevent air from escaping or entering the chamber. Gas is allowed into the chamber through two different tubes- one supplying oxygen as an “up” control and one supplying a nitrogen and carbon dioxide mixture as a “down” control of the oxygen concentration. Flow through the tubes is regulated by two needle valves. A check valve on the side of the chamber allows excess gas to exit if the pressure passes 0.5 psi. An oxygen sensor sits in the top of the chamber that gives a continuous oxygen reading to a connected computer through an Arduino Uno. The only manufacturing required was that of the chamber, but because the chamber is a pressure vessel, the manufacturing had to be quite precise. Tests were to be conducted on the sealability of the chamber, the accuracy of setting the O2 level, the oxygen sensor itself and more. Due to time constraints, the only test that was able to be carried out to any significant extent was a Modified Maintain Oxygen Level test which determined what the best method of sealing the chamber was to maximize the amount of time the chamber was able to hold a given oxygen concentration. More work needs to be done for this project to be useful in a research setting. The chamber needs a way to be heated and held at a temperature conducive to cell proliferation. Additionally, active control of the valves will need to be introduced to hold the oxygen concentration within spec for 48 hours.
URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/bmedsp/137