2.3 Vertical Transport Mixing Evaluation
Multi-well plates (96-well) were designed to evaluate vertical transport
in cell culture plates. Plates were prepared using RBL-posts affixed to
an acrylic substrate (RBL proprietary method). Biocompatible adhesive
spacers were cut with CO2 laser to model 96-well XY
dimensions. Using these spacers, the RBL posts were bonded to the
underside of clear no-bottom 96-well microplates (Greiner Bio One
655000), creating an open-well chamber with RBL posts covering the floor
of the wells. Each well was first
filled with 200 µL clear 1% solution of Triton X-100 (Thermo
Scientific™ 85111) and then the
multi-well plate was placed over a 1-inch drive magnet (120 mT).
Afterward, a 7.5µL volume of dilute blue food dye was delivered via
pipet along the well periphery and allowed to settle. At this time, the
drive system was engaged at the appropriate rpm (3000, 6000, 9000) and
real-time videos were captured using LCD digital microscope.
Quantitative analysis of the axial transport mixing videos was performed
by determining the number of pixels the indicator dye traveled from the
established baseline boundary. These values were calculated at each
selected time interval (1 min.) and the distance traveled was reported
in millimeters.