Automated Microfluidic System for NMR-Compatible 3D Spheroid Culture

Research topic/area

Microfluidic System

Type of thesis

Master

Start time

01.05.2025

Application deadline

01.07.2025

Duration of the thesis

6 month

Description

Background
This project focuses on the development of an NMR-compatible microflu-
idic device for the seeding and long-term culture of MCF-7 spheroids,
which is a 3D model of breast cancer. Three-dimensional (3D) cell mod-
els like spheroids provide a more physiologically relevant alternative to
animal testing, enabling better prediction of human responses in cancer
research. Microfluidics is well-suited for this application due to its ability
to precisely control the cellular microenvironment, enable efficient nutrient
exchange, and allow for scalable, reproducible experiments. The integra-
tion of automated chip handling and positioning within an NMR spectrom-
eter will enable non-invasive, real-time metabolic monitoring of spheroids,
advancing both cancer research and lab-on-a-chip technologies.
Goal
The objective is to develop an NMR-compatible microfluidic system for au-
tomated seeding, long-term culture, and real-time monitoring of 3D MCF-7
spheroids.
Approach
The project will develop in three phases:
1. Develop an NMR-compatible microfluidic chip for seeding and cul-
turing MCF-7 spheroids.
2. Establish a protocol for long-term spheroid culture in the chip.
3. Implement an automated system for chip insertion and positioning
in the NMR spectrometer.

Requirement

Requirements for students

• You are an ambitious biomedical or mechanical engineer with a passion for microfluidics and automation.
• Ideally, you have expertise in
• programming microcontrollers
• microfabrication
• cell culture techniques, although this is not essential.

Faculty departments

• Engineering sciences
  Biological engineering
  Mechanical engineering
  Mechanical Engineering

Supervision

Title, first name, last name

Sylwia Barker

Organizational unit

IMT

Email address

sylwia.barker@kit.edu

Link to personal homepage/personal page

Website

Application via email

Application documents

• Cover letter
• Curriculum vitae
• Grade transcript

E-Mail Address for application
Senden Sie die oben genannten Bewerbungsunterlagen bitte per Mail an sylwia.barker@kit.edu


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