Developing a protocol for the Culture and Analysis of Ovarian Cancer Cells in Microfluidic Devices
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Dragos Amarie
Location
Russell Union Room 2047
Type of Research
On-going
Session Format
Oral Presentation
College
College of Science & Mathematics
Department
Biochemistry, Chemistry, and Physics
Abstract
Scientific Merit: High-fitness cancer cells possess unique survival advantages -such as superior resilience, regeneration, and reproduction- but are difficult to study because they are visually indistinguishable from low-fitness cancer cells within the same cell colony, or cluster. Cancer colonies exposed to treatment therapies (e.g., chemotherapy or radiation) are ‘wounded’, causing separation of cell clusters that is detrimental to overall survival. To repair this damage, high-fitness cancer cells proliferate rapidly to close the wound. These cells are key to the understanding of cancer recurrence after remission and genetic evolution. However, the current study’s limitations stem from the difficulty of isolating these cells from their visually indistinguishable, low-fitness counterparts.
Focus: We will be using microfluidic devices designed to reliably sort cells based on their fitness-related physical properties. However, the primary objective at this time is to validate these microfluidic environments by ensuring that cultured cancer cells recapitulate behaviors observed in traditional petri dish cultures. My project comprises four phases: literature review, data collection, analysis, and protocol development. Key technical challenges include transitioning from static to continuous-flow systems, addressing shear forces, treating inner-chamber walls, preventing resource competition due to overpopulation, and optimizing cell concentration to maintain culture viability. This research will provide a reliable methodology for using microfluidics to investigate the cellular reproduction and genetic advancement of the most dangerous cells within a tumor.
Program Description
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Start Date
4-23-2026 9:45 AM
End Date
4-23-2026 10:00 AM
Recommended Citation
Malave Irizarry, Maria Del Mar, "Developing a protocol for the Culture and Analysis of Ovarian Cancer Cells in Microfluidic Devices" (2026). GS4 Student Scholars Symposium. 5.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/research_symposium/2026/2026/5
Developing a protocol for the Culture and Analysis of Ovarian Cancer Cells in Microfluidic Devices
Russell Union Room 2047
Scientific Merit: High-fitness cancer cells possess unique survival advantages -such as superior resilience, regeneration, and reproduction- but are difficult to study because they are visually indistinguishable from low-fitness cancer cells within the same cell colony, or cluster. Cancer colonies exposed to treatment therapies (e.g., chemotherapy or radiation) are ‘wounded’, causing separation of cell clusters that is detrimental to overall survival. To repair this damage, high-fitness cancer cells proliferate rapidly to close the wound. These cells are key to the understanding of cancer recurrence after remission and genetic evolution. However, the current study’s limitations stem from the difficulty of isolating these cells from their visually indistinguishable, low-fitness counterparts.
Focus: We will be using microfluidic devices designed to reliably sort cells based on their fitness-related physical properties. However, the primary objective at this time is to validate these microfluidic environments by ensuring that cultured cancer cells recapitulate behaviors observed in traditional petri dish cultures. My project comprises four phases: literature review, data collection, analysis, and protocol development. Key technical challenges include transitioning from static to continuous-flow systems, addressing shear forces, treating inner-chamber walls, preventing resource competition due to overpopulation, and optimizing cell concentration to maintain culture viability. This research will provide a reliable methodology for using microfluidics to investigate the cellular reproduction and genetic advancement of the most dangerous cells within a tumor.
