Computational Analysis of Laminar Flow Dynamics for Corneal Drug Screening: A COMSOL Multiphysics

Most ocular drugs are formulated in the form of eye drops, which are administered via the cornea, representing the transparent window to the eye. In order to study the effects of corneal drugs, we plan to create a 3D model of the corneal cells that contains all three cell layers and integrates microfluidics. Transepithelial/Transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) and cell viability will be measured in real time by integrated sensors. Finally, the project aims to provide a new proof-of-concept for determining the permeability coefficients of common ocular drugs in a fully assembled 3D cell culture chip.
In this study, laminar flow dynamics in a microfluidic channel created for ocular drug screening are examined using COMSOL Multiphysics Software. The importance of shear stress simulation serves as the driving force in improving numerous biological and biomedical systems. There are two primary research questions that need to be addressed in this study:
• How do the variations in flow rates affect the shear stress distribution along the microfluidic channel?
• What is the correlation between shear stress magnitude and specific locations within the channel?
Simulation results reveal that an optimal shear stress range of 0.01-0.1 Pa is achieved in the middle region of the channel when the flow rate is adjusted within the range of 1–10 µL/min. Shear stress is found to be strongly dependent on both a) the position within the channel and b) the applied flow rate, while shear stress, pressure, and velocity demonstrate a linear relationship with respect to the flow rate.