Abstract
Organoids, 3D tissue cultures that mimic real organs, offer valuable models for research. Traditional culture methods rely on manual feeding and orbital shakers, making them labor-intensive and inconsistent. Microfluidic systems have shown their potential to improve reproducibility by controlling media exchange and culture conditions, yet most still require standard incubators, which limit continuous monitoring due to space and humidity constraints. To address this, we developed a modular platform that integrates automated feeding, real-time imaging, and environmental control, eliminating the need for a conventional incubator. A key feature is a vertically oriented PDMS/glass chip that supports precise media delivery and monitoring while preserving incubation conditions, making it ideal for morphological studies. We demonstrated the platform’s ability to maintain metabolic stability and media distribution over time using cerebral organoids. This platform improves organoid research by combining microfluidics, automation, and imaging, enhancing disease modeling, drug testing, and regenerative medicine applications.
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Data availability
All custom scripts, pH calibration, feeding rates, temperature records, 3D-printed files, microscope images, and CFD videos are available at [[https://github.com/sebtomon89/braingeneersdifussionproject](https:/github.com/sebtomon89/braingeneersdifussionproject)]. Additional modified scripts can be accessed upon request. All other relevant data are available from the corresponding author upon request.
Code availability
Details of publicly available software used in the study are given in the “Data availability” section. Apart from this, no unique custom code or mathematical algorithms were central to reaching the conclusions of this work.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the UCSC Life Sciences Microscopy Center, RRID: SCR_021135, for providing the confocal microscope to acquire the images. Some illustrations were generated using Biorender. We gratefully acknowledge contributions from Dr. Sofie R. Salama and Dr. Kateryna Voitiuk for the feedback on the preparation of this manuscript. During the preparation of this work, the authors used ChatGPT and Grammarly to improve clarity and sentence structure. After using this tool/service, the authors reviewed and edited the content as needed and take full responsibility for the content of the publication.
Funding
This work was supported by the Schmidt Futures Grant SF857 (D.H., and M.T.); the National Human Genome Research Institute Grant 1RM1HG011543 (D.H. and M.T.); National Science Foundation Grants 2134955 (to D.H. and M.T.), 2034037 (to M.T.), and 2515389 (to D.H., M.A.M.-R. and M.T.); the National Institute of Mental Health Grant 1U24MH132628 and U24NS146314 (both to D.H. and M.A.M.-R.); the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine DISC4-16285 (to M.A.M.-R. and M.T.), and DISC4-16337 (to M.A.M.-R).; by the University of California Office of the President M25PR9045 (to M.A.M.-R. and M.T.). H.E.S. is a National Science Foundation Graduate Student Research Fellowship grantee. S.H. received support from the UC Doctoral Diversity Initiative (DDI-UCSC-IBSC). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the University of California, CIRM or any other agency of the State of California.
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S.T.-M. and S.T.S. worked on hardware, software, and platform assembly. S.T.-M., S.H., H.E.S and S.V-C. worked in cell culture and cell staining. S.T.-M., S.H., H.E.S., and G.K. performed biological experiments. S.T.-M., M.A.M.-R., and M.T. conceived the experiments. D.H., M.A.M.-R., and M.T. supervised the team and secured funding. S.T.-M., H.E.S., M.A.M.-R., S.T.S., and M.T. wrote the manuscript with contributions from all authors.
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Torres-Montoya, S., Hernandez, S., Seiler, S.T. et al. A modular platform for automated organoid culture and longitudinal imaging. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-40231-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-40231-0
