Microfluidic Eye-Chamber-on-a-chip for Modeling Oil
Emulsification
Yau Kei Chan, and Ho Cheung Shum
Abstract
In this talk, we will introduce features of a
microfluidic chip that we constructed for mimicking the eye
chamber. We demonstrate how the chip can be used for
modeling the emulsification of oil in the eye following the
surgical procedures for treating a type of retinal detachment.
I. BACKGROUND
In some specific cases of retinal detachment, the treatment
involves the injection of silicone oil into the eye cavity. The
interface that forms between the aqueous solution and the
injected oil in the eye cavity helps provide an anchor for fixing
the detached retina onto the back of the eye. Due to the foreign
nature of the oils introduced, the injected oil is removed
subsequent to the reattachment of the retina. However, despite
repeated efforts, some oils remain, and get emulsified into
smaller droplets that are stabilized probably by the
biomolecules in the eye chamber. The presence of the tiny
droplets obstructs the vision of the patients and has also been
associated with a number of complications, including the
blockage of aqueous outflow pathway, which leads to an
elevated intraocular pressure and potentially glaucoma.
Therefore, understanding of how oil emulsifies into droplets
and investigation of new methods to remove them are of great
importance.

II. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The emulsification of oil in the eye chamber has been
attributed to the movements of the eye, such as saccadic
movement, in a living person. However, during the daily
functioning of the patients, it is not possible to visualize
real-time the process of oil emulsification, challenging further
confirmation of the emulsification mechanism. The area of
(!-on-a- *
"
$"#!#
#
$" of micro-devices
for screening drug leads at a lower cost. In this work, we
develop an (&-chamber-on-a- *
!
%"$'
#

emulsification of silicone oil when the chip is subject to
simulated eye movement.
cultured the relevant retinal cell type on the inner surface of
#
!
#

#
#$
"#$#

#
##"+
&"

To keep the cells nourished, small channels surrounding the
eye chamber are designed to imbibe culture solutions
continuously. Silicone oils of different viscosities were tested
on the devices, which are subjected to simulated saccadic eye
movement for four days. The transparent nature of the
materials that make up the devices allows simultaneous
imaging of the silicone oil inside the chamber. The results
showed that silicone oil of low viscosity emulsifies more
readily resulting in a larger number of droplets formed inside
the chip. Surprisingly, increasing the viscosity of the silicone
oil beyond 500 cSt does not lead to a significant further
reduction in the number of oil droplets formed. This provides
a guideline to the design of silicone oil for this type of
treatment. In addition, increasing the duration of the simulated
saccades leads to an increase in silicone oil droplets in all
silicone oil tested. The result helps confirm the role of eye
movement in silicone oil emulsification. The details of these
results have been published previously [1].

% #


(&-chamber-on-a- *
"
#

only useful for understanding the mechanism of oil
emulsification during eye movement, but it also provides a
platform for testing and comparing the emulsification
resistance of different intraocular tamponades. The concept
also facilitates the development of new approaches [2] to
remove excess silicone oil as a new in vitro model. While our
works only serve to imitate one small part of the eye cavity
and is still far from achieving all features of a functional
artificial eye, it demonstrates the potential applied value in
this exciting and relatively inadequately explored tool for
ophthalmological research.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We thank the Department of Ophthalmology of The
University of Hong Kong, and Prof. David Wong of the St.
As the emulsification and stabilization of the oil are highly
&
%! 
%!"#&
" #

sensitive to the surface properties of the eye chamber, we
*Research supported by the Health and Medical Research Fund
(13144551) of Hong Kong.
Yau Kei Chan is with the Department of Mechanical Engineering, The
University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong (e-mail:
josephyk@connect.hku.hk).
Ho Cheung Shum is with the University of Hong Kong- Shenzhen
$+"
&
#

#

for collaborating with us on this work.
REFERENCES
[1] Y.K. Chan, K.H.S. Sy, C.Y. Wong, P.K. Man, D.S.H. Wong and H.C.
Shum, (In vitro Modeling of Emulsification of Silicone Oil as
Intraocular Tamponade Using Microengineered Eye-on-a-Chip*

Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, 56, pp. 3314.
(2015)
Institute of Research and Innovation (HKU-SIRI), as well as the Department





$
(A
of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road,
Hong Kong (phone: +852-39177904; fax: +852-28585415; e-mail:
ashum@hku.hk).
[2] 


$


low-molecular-weight-oil cleaner for removal of leftover silicone oil
intraocular tamponade*
Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual
Sciences, 56, pp. 1014. (2015)