Gas Mixer for Hypoxic Condition - Universitat Barcelona

TARGET OF THE PROJECT

Cell Study – Mimicking Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Description of the Application.

Intermittent hypoxia (IH), a hallmark of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of OSA-associated morbidities, especially in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Oxidative stress and inflammation induced by IH are suggested as the main contributors to end-organ dysfunction in OSA patients and animal models.

Since the molecular mechanisms underlying these in vivo, pathological responses remain poorly understood, implementation of experimental in vitro cell-based systems capable of inducing high-frequency IH would be highly desirable.

Rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) exposed to IH mimicking OSA and cyclic stretch at cardiac frequencies revealed that hypoxia-inducible factor 1a (HIF-1a) expression was increased in response to both stimuli. Thus, the chip provides a versatile tool for the study of cellular responses to cyclical hypoxia and stretch.

We bought three gas blenders model 100 to have different test lines. We use them to apply cyclic changes in PO2 to a PDMS chip and subject cultured cells to intermittent hypoxia for several days. An inlet tubing of 0.3mm ID (1m long) was connected to a Gas Blender 100 able to provide fast changes in gas composition.

READ THE SCIENTIFIC PAPERS.

Benefits and Savings.

A traditional method would require instruments that could NOT make it possible to bring forward these experiments with easy and precise, constant, management of the micro gas flows.

The Universitat de Barcelona was seeking a solution for their study about cells and intermittent hypoxia (low oxygen). Thanks to our instruments now it’s possible to regulate low flows of gases with basically NO CUT-OFF, through the user-friendly software, the automation helps to set routines and to check the stability of the flows with great precision.

Our Gas Mixer makes the research into the effects of low oxygen (hypoxia) much easier and with a less complicated equipment setup., less space, and a cheaper budget.

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY

The University of Barcelona is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia in Spain. With 73 undergraduate programs, 273 graduate programs and 48 doctorate programs to over 63,000 students, UB is considered to be the best university in Spain in the QS World University Rankings of 2018, which ranked the university 156th overall in the world. In the 2016-2017 ranking of University Ranking by Academic Performance, UB is considered the best university in Spain and 45th university in the world. Also, according to the yearly ranking made by US News, it is the 81st-best university in the world, and the best university in Spain.

MAIN BENEFITS

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  GAS MIXER VS MASS FLOW CONTROLLER. The GAS MIXER channels it’s more compact than typical flow controller meters and can be specifically calibrated on the mixture to be used.
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  WITHOUT MCQ INSTRUMENTS? 3 Mass Flow Controllers with Power control Unit, tubes, NO-Software and different Gas Mixture Cylinders.
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  TIME SAVING. Instead of changing a calibration cylinder for each point, our Gas Mixer uses pure gas allowing the Universitat de Barcelona to set all the desired calibration points in just a few steps.
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  SOFTWARE AUTOMATION. Thanks to our Software PRO version and its option “Automatic Program”, now Universitat de Barcelona can bring forward experiments in automation, painlessly.
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  MICRO FLOW. NO CUT-OFF. OUR GB100 Series allows you to control the flow in all the calibration range, from 0,1 ml/min to 500 ml/min with NO cut-off
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  FLOW STABILITY. Thanks to our revolutionary method every gas flow has a great stability making possible to have a stable flow also for lower flow-range.

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