Cellular Perfusion – ARIA
Cellular Perfusion and Timed Injections
SDR Scientific provides a range of tools to assist researchers studying perfusion. One of these is Aria from Fluigent, an automated solution for cellular perfusion or timed injection protocols. Aria allows the user to automate delivery of up to 10 different solutions into a chamber or microfluidic chip by following user-defined protocols.
Microfluidics is the science of manipulating and controlling fluids, usually in the range of microliters. It decreases sample and reagent consumptions, shortens the time of experiments and reduces the overall costs of experiments. Aria can be used for any application requiring timed perfusions or injections.
No manipulation is needed which reduces contamination or changes to cell conditions. This leads to higher reproducibility compared to manual methods. Aria is designed to easily bring microfluidic advantages to all fluid handling experiments for reliable results.
Applications that require switching between multiple solutions may be time consuming and tedious as they typically require many manual operations. Aria is designed to replace manual procedures such as pipetting or manual switching.
Aria is particularly easy to set up. Installation requires only a few steps connecting the instrument to the sample chamber. Calibration procedures are automated to adapt to any fluidic path when using the supplied software.
Aria provides simple management of up to 10 fluid reservoirs. Tubes of 2 or 15 mL and larger bottles can be directly connected/loaded onto the instrument and changed during the experiment. The ability to refill the reservoirs is particularly useful for long term experiments, as well as inserting different solutions during the study without stopping the instrument.
Sequential fluid delivery is key to many applications including, perfusion, immunolabeling, live cell-based assays, micro-dosing, in vitro drug screening and Static immersion with periodic injections.
The Aria Automation Software provides quick and easy navigation to control the experiment and to be able to walk away while the experiment is running. Reusing protocols also increases reproducibility compared to manual methods. The software can handle tasks such as:
- Creating custom injection/perfusion sequences
- Setting injection parameters based on time or volume
- Setting the desired flow rate value for each injection/perfusion
- Programming stop flow and incubation or imaging for a defined time or until an external signal is received to resume the protocol.
Aria was developed using Fluigent’s expertise in microfluidics. It is based on the use of a pressure pumping principle to inject solutions. During injection/perfusion, Aria pressurises all reservoirs and the selected solution is pushed into the sample chamber. While constantly monitoring the flow rate of the solution exiting the instrument, an algorithm adapts the pressure to maintain the desired flow rate.
Interested in knowing more about Cellular Perfusion and Timed Injections?
Aria can be used for any application requiring timed fluid perfusions or injections.
Links to source webpages
https://www.fluigent.com/product/microfluidic-components/aria/