Eventos Anais de eventos
COBEM 2023
27th International Congress of Mechanical Engineering
AUTOMATING THE PROCESS OF GENERATING MICROMOLDS IN COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN (CAD) FOR USE IN 3D CELL CULTURE
Submission Author:
Lívia Helena Martineli Teixeira , SP
Co-Authors:
Lívia Helena Martineli Teixeira , Isabelle Miki Ikuno, Dayanna Axly Santiago Villantoy, Marcília Valéria Guimarães, Pedro Noritomi
Presenter: Lívia Helena Martineli Teixeira
doi://10.26678/ABCM.COBEM2023.COB2023-1575
Abstract
Stem cells found in embryonic and extra-embryonic tissues are undifferentiated and do not have specific functions. However, they can specialize into defined tissues originating from certain gene expressions. The mastery of these cells and their specializations are important for advancing medicine, considering that stem cells have already been used in treating various diseases, such as diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer's Disease, and showing positive results until now. One of the ways of growing stem cells in vitro is using micromolds. Such devices, in general, are composed of a circular plate where several pins are arranged. These pins can have different geometries and diameters, having as reference dimensional aspects of the cells. These molds created by engineering should serve as stamps for the compartment that houses the hydrogel used in cell cultivation. Customizing these devices allows precise geometric control of the characteristics of the sets of cells formed inside them, an essential issue in reducing the variability of these cell aggregates used in clinical research. However, their manual modelling demands time, excessive expenses, and specialized labor. Therefore, this article aims to generate a parameterized micromold model for manufacturing customized devices in the in vitro culture of three-dimensional (3D) cells. For the modelling and parameterization of the micromolds, Grasshopper was used, an extension integrated into the Rhinoceros CAD software, which allows the creation of customized algorithms and workflows to generate complex designs and automate repetitive tasks, making 3D modelling more efficient and versatile. The geometry of the micromold pin was based on consolidated work in tissue engineering, formed by a hexagonal base and a semi-sphere where the cellular spheroids will be grouped. The parameterization was made from the sphere's diameter measurements and the plate where the micropins are located. With this, the researcher will determine the measures of his mold, customizing the device according to the need of the research. Therefore, the method will help in the customized manufacture of micromolds for cell culture, with the benefit of reducing the geometric modelling time of the devices.
Keywords
cell culture, Parameterization, micromold, automation, CAD, Bioengineering, Grasshopper
