Patent ID: 11884938
Assignee: PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE
Field: Biotechnology (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC C | IPC B  C

Claim 0:
1. A method for culturing intestinal epithelial cells comprising:
a) providing a microfluidic device comprising a microchannel connected to a fluid source comprising culture media, and a membrane positioned within the microchannel;
b) introducing intestinal epithelial cells to at least one surface of said membrane;
c) supplying culture media from the fluid source to the microchannel at a flow rate of less than 500 μL/hr; and
d) culturing the intestinal epithelial cells at least until villi structures develop within 132 to 170 hours, wherein said culturing comprises:
i) stretching said membrane from 5% to 15% along at least one dimension of the membrane during the culturing step; and
ii) stretching said membrane in a cyclic manner at a rate in the range of 0.01 Hz to 0.15 Hz during the culturing step.