Flexible cell culture device made of membrane-type silicone composites for simulating human body

Human tissues are exposed to various mechanical stimuli, and the types and magnitudes of the mechanical stimuli acting on cells and tissues are important factors in controlling the development pathway of cells and tissues. Therefore, giving repetitive mechanical stimuli to culturing cells may provide beneficial effects, such as differentiating target cells or accelerating cell development, by controlling the type of stimulus and its magnitude. Electroactive polymers (EAPs) respond to electrical voltage with significant changes in shape or size and can transfer appropriate (1–20%) mechanical stimuli to cells. In this study, we designed a new type of flexible cell culture device made of silicone (composite) film, and evaluated the actuating strain of the driving portion of the cell culture device according to the pre-stretching condition and the clay nanoparticle (i.e., organically modified montmorillonite, or OMMT) content. The effect of OMMT particles on the electro-mechanical performance of the silicone (composite) film actuators was investigated by adding 0–5% OMMT particles to silicone elastomer using the solvent-assisted mixing method. The effects of these two major variables on actuation strain were quantitatively investigated, and the most appropriate conditions for the driving part of a cell culture device were determined.