Stage

Master's internship/Stage M2: Biophysic study of a gut epithelium on a 3D-printed scaffold

Équipes / Services concernés

Responsables

Bastien Venzac

Date de publication

09.10.24

Prise de poste souhaitée

03.02.25

Subject:

The external layer of the gut is composed of a tight monolayer of cells, called an epithelium, whose function is to absorb the nutrients while avoiding the translocation of pathogens or particles from the lumen of the gut to the blood network. In the light of the worrying increasing of micro and nanoplastics presence in the environment and food, in vitro models of the gut barrier have to be set up to study in more details the possible translocation of nanoplastics through the gut epithelium. One of the main obstacles is the need of substrates for this epithelium, with a high density of pores large enough for the translocation of micro-nanoplastics with dimensions < 3μm. To answer that need, we are building 3D-printed nets made of micrometric or sub-micrometric fibers using high resolution, two-photon polymerization of acrylate resins (Nanoscribe 3D printer). On these nets, the diameter of the fibers, their orientation and the pore size could be tightly controlled. We are able to culture gut cells (Caco-2 cell lines) on these nets and to obtain promising monolayers of cells after 3 weeks of culture . We developed a series of microfluidic modules allowing cell culture, confocal microscopy and trans-epithelial electrical resistance. However, depending on the net parameters (pore size, fiber diameter, orientation, 3D topology), the organization of the epithelium could be drastically modified. In this internship, we propose to study the influence of these parameters on the creation of a tight epithelium, on its organization and on the differentiation of the cells toward enterocyte-like phenotypes. This study will allow in the future the production of reliable in vitro models for nanoplastic translocation studies.

Tasks and techniques:

During this internship, training on several techniques will be offered, including:

  • Cell culture and staining
  • Confocal microscopy
  • Two-photon 3D printing in a clean-room environment
  • Electronic microscopy

Profiles with skills and knowledge in cell biology, micro/nanofabrication and/or microfluidics are welcome.

Location and duration:

The ELiA team is a research team specialized in in vitro systems for the study of the cell and tissue microenvironment, hosted in the LAAS-CNRS laboratory in Toulouse, France. The LAAS-CNRS is a large academic laboratory with 700 researchers, engineers, PhD students and interns and large facilities including a large clean room (equivalent to the MESA+) and biology cell culture areas.

The internship is planned for a 6 months duration, starting between January and March 2025 with a monthly allowance around 600€.

Contacts

LAAS-CNRS: Dr Bastien Venzac (bastien.venzac@laas.fr)