On-chip micro-incubator with integrated sensors and actuators

Degenerative pathologies are among the greatest long-term risk for astronauts exposed to hazard environment during deep space mission. A breakthrough goal in this area, to improve risk modeling, is to provide biological in-situ analysis of those effects. For this purpose, we developed a scientific payload to study the space environment’s effects on cellular cultures. The system is a micro-incubator based on lab-on-chip technology with integrated thin-film sensors and actuators for the active control of the environmental conditions of the cell culture. In further detail, the micro-incubator is composed of a microfluidic network bonded on a glass substrate on which hydrogenated amorphous silicon sensors and thin-film resistive heaters are fabricated. The device implements a thermally-controlled incubation chamber with a reservoir for the nutrients and a network for the distribution of carbon dioxide through a thin gas-permeable membrane. Carbon dioxide is produced on-chip by the pyrolysis of sodium bicarbonate stored in a separate reservoir with a dedicated thin film heater. The proposed payload represents a viable solution for enabling biological experiments aboard CubeSat satellites.