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

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 ($34.64\hat{\mathrm{I}}¼\mathrm{m}$ side length) in a honeycomb array connected by $20\hat{\mathrm{I}}¼\mathrm{m}$ 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 $0.1$ - $1\hat{\mathrm{I}}¼L/min$, simulations revealed the extrapolated pressure differential across the full $50,000\hat{\mathrm{I}}¼\mathrm{m}$ 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.

10 pages, 17 figures