Products > Instruments and Accessories > ibidi pump system

ibidi pump system

For long term uni-directional and/or oscillating flow assays

Instructions (PDF, 2.5 MB)
Software Manual (PDF, 872 KB)
PumpControl - software
How to find your pumping system
Product Information (PDF, 2.8 MB)

Application Note: HUVECS under perfusion (AN13) (PDF, 2 MB)

Applications

cultivation of cells under flow conditions, inside an incubator in long term assays
cell culture under defined shear stress
enrichment of metabolic products as soluble factors
long term flow experiments with a minimal amount of medium and supplement
endothelial cell interaction with suspended cells under perfusion conditions

Technical features

uni-directional, continuous flow
oscillating flow possible
fully compatible with ibidi heating stage
small volume / circular system
perfectly compatible with microscopy
perfectly compatible with incubator conditions
minimal mechanical stress on suspended cells
up to four parallel fluidic units per air pump
fully controllable via PC

Cultivation under flow

Cultivation of endothelial cells under perfusion reflects their natural environment far better than doing so under static conditions. ibidi developed a perfusion system to address exactly that question. The system consists of two main components: a control and a fluidic unit. The major advantage of that “split” approach is that the closed flow setup can be assembled and after cultivation transferred to the microscope – without compromising the sterility of the system. The open architecture with the Luer connectors allows the use of any kind of flow devices.

The ibidi perfusion system

The control unit is a computer controlled air pump. It generates pressure ranging from -100 to 100 mbar with +/- 1 mbar accuracy. Due to the fact that the flow is generated via air pressure, the mechanical stress on suspended cells in the reservoirs is minimized.The software is a convenient and flexible tool to control the pressure and in turn the shear rate. The fluidic unit contains two reservoirs for the cell media, a slide holder and all required tubes for connecting reservoirs and µ-Slides. ibidi offers a range of perfusion sets with different diameters and lengths. Therefore these perfusion sets allow for varying the flow rates as well as placing the fluidic unit on the microscope stage. A set of valves generates an uni-directional flow.

The control unit is connected to the fluidic unit by a thin, low-voltage electric cable and a tube for transducing the air pressure which drives the flow. The air tube and the electric cable can be mounted into the incubator, either through a hole in the back wall, or alternatively through the front door seal.

technical details:

flow rate	0.5-50 ml / min
shear stress	0.5-85 dyne/cm²
working volume	3-15 ml
recommened working volume	10 ml
suitable for all µ-Slides with Luer adapters

catalog numbers:

complete ibidi pump system	10902
ibidi air pressure pump	10905
fluidic unit	10903
notebook	10908

perfusion set, 15 cm, ID 0.8 mm, 10 ml (3 units)	10961
perfusion set, 15 cm, ID 1.6 mm, 10 ml (3 units)	10962
perfusion set, 50 cm, ID 0.8 mm, 10 ml (3 units)	10963
perfusion set, 50 cm, ID 1.6 mm, 10 ml (3 units)	10964
reservoir set, 10ml, sterile (10 units)	10971
valve connection cable	10981

Experimental setup
in an incubator

The system is a fully integrated solution. Hosting the fluidic unit in the incubator still allows for running perfusion assays directly at the microscope. A defined temperature and CO₂ concentration is assured as the fluidic reservoirs are inside the incubator at all times.

Principle of flow generation

The pressure generator works with a negative pressure. At state 1 the negative pressure is supplied at reservoir 1. Consequently, medium is sucked from reservoir 2 filling reservoir 1. As soon as reservoir 1 is filled, all valves switch and the liquid is now sucked from reservoir 1 – via the same way and therefore in the same direction – filling reservoir 2.

Flow is a parameter

Advantages

fluidic unit can be placed into the incubator while the control unit is outside the incubator
fluidic unit and control unit can be separated without losing sterility; makes preparation and live observation on the microscope easy

compatible with all incubators
minimized mechanical stress on suspended cells such as monocytes
uni-directional flow using small amounts of reagents
easy handling with disposable flow chambers and Luer connectors

Flow generated with various µ-Slides and perfusion sets

Perfusion set 15 cm, ID 0.8 mm, blue
	Flowrate min [ml/min]	Flowrate max [ml/min]	Shear stress min [dyne/cm²]	Shear stress max [dyne/cm²]
µ-Slide I 0.2 Luer	0.5	8.5	2.6	43.6
µ-Slide I 0.4 Luer	0.7	10.2	0.9	13.4
µ-Slide I 0.6 Luer	0.7	10.9	0.4	6.6
µ-Slide I 0.8 Luer	0.8	12.1	0.3	4.2
µ-Slide VI 0.4	0.7	9.2	1.2	16.2
µ-Slide y-shaped	1.2	17.8	2.7	40.5

Perfusion set 15 cm, ID 1.6 mm, red
	Flowrate min [ml/min]	Flowrate max [ml/min]	Shear stress min [dyne/cm²]	Shear stress max [dyne/cm²]
µ-Slide I 0.2 Luer	0.9	14.4	4.6	73.9
µ-Slide I 0.4 Luer	2.1	26.5	2.8	34.9
µ-Slide I 0.6 Luer	2.4	30.0	1.4	18.0
µ-Slide I 0.8 Luer	2.6	30.8	0.9	10.7
µ-Slide VI 0.4	2.4	25.8	4.2	45.4
µ-Slide y-shaped	2.0	23.2	4.5	52.8

We highly recommend perfusion sets ID 0.8 mm (10961, 10963) for flow rates
from 0.1 - 11 ml / min and perfusion sets ID 1.6 mm (10962, 10964) for flow rates
from 1.1 - 60 ml / min.