Insulin C-peptide secretion on-a-chip to measure the dynamics of secretion and metabolism from individual islets

Twenty years of islet-on-a-chip: microfluidic tools for dissecting islet metabolism and function

“…Within the publications, notable advancements have been made to develop more user-friendly techniques for investigating the dynamic metabolism of islets. 15,77,80 While some of the devices reviewed here may be limited to specialized laboratories, many of them are relatively straightforward to use once a lab is properly outfitted. They typically require a minimum of premade treatments that are added to a reservoir, a pump or vacuum-based pressure controller to regulate flow rate, tubing for inlet and/or outlet, and a standard operating procedure (SOP) for user guidance.…”

“…FAIAs are standard assays used in many different formats that recently emerged as on-chip assays of insulin. 36,73–77 Fluorescence anisotropy is a ratiometric measurement of the rotational mobility of a fluorophore determined by excitation with polarized light and collection of the parallel ( I ‖ ) and perpendicular ( I ⊥ ) emission intensity. In essence, exciting the fluorophore with a single colour results in a ratiometric measure of the rotational mobility of a fluorophore.…”

“…Our lab also adopted FAIA to measure insulin secretion from individual islets. 77 Our goal was to achieve the highest temporal resolution to monitor the dynamics of first- and second-phase insulin secretion while simultaneously imaging islet metabolism. We also aimed for this device to be as simple as possible to facilitate the throughput necessary for live cell imaging.…”