Design, Simulation, and Fabrication of a Hexagonal Microfluidic Platform for Culturing Neurons

TL;DR

This paper presents the design, simulation, and fabrication of a hexagonal microfluidic device optimized for neuron culture, validated through CFD modeling and successful photolithography, enabling stable flow conditions for neural tissue engineering.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel hexagonal microfluidic platform with validated CFD simulations and successful fabrication, advancing in vitro neuron culture capabilities.

Findings

CFD modeling confirmed stable flow regimes for neuron viability.

Fabrication achieved precise hexagonal architecture with minor corner rounding.

Device supports stable pressure differentials suitable for neural tissue engineering.

Abstract

Developing an organoid computing platform from neurons in vitro demands stable, precisely controlled microenvironments. To address this requirement, we designed, simulated, and fabricated a microfluidic device featuring hexagonal wells ($34.64\,\mathrm{\mu m}$ side length) in a honeycomb array connected by $20\,\mathrm{\mu m}$ channels. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling, validated by high mesh quality ($0.934$ orthogonal quality) and robust convergence, confirmed the architecture supports flow regimes ideal for ensuring cell viability. At target flow rates of $0.1$ - $1\,\mathrm{\mu L/min}$, simulations revealed the extrapolated pressure differential across the full $50{,}000\,\mathrm{\mu m}$ device remains within stable operating limits at $177\,\mathrm{kPa}$ (average) and $329\,\mathrm{kPa}$ (maximum). Photolithography successfully produced this architecture, with only minor corner rounding observed at feature interfaces. This work therefore establishes a computationally validated and fabricated platform, paving the way for experimental flow characterization and subsequent neural integration.