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Since neurons are exposed to multi-modal stimuli in vivo, it is critical for these exposures to be conserved in an in vitro test system. We developed a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based microfluidic platform to interrogate peripheral sensory neurons (SNs) in the presence of conditioned media from nucleus pulposus cells from the degenerated IVD, to model a potential impact of IVD cells\u2019 secretome on pain sensing. Our platform enables controlled perfusion of cell-derived biochemical cues alongside a defined homogeneous electric field (EF) and supports real-time optical analysis. Computational modeling, fluid perfusion experiments, and conductivity measurements confirmed stable fluid transport and tunable homogeneous EF generation within the device. As proof of concept for neuronal stimulation, neuroblastoma (N2a) cells loaded with a fluorescent Ca\n                  <jats:sup>2+<\/jats:sup>\n                  indicator exhibited a 56% increase in Ca\n                  <jats:sup>2+<\/jats:sup>\n                  transient activity when exposed to media from degenerated IVDs, concomitant with increased IVD-derived IL-1\u03b2 production. Importantly, EF-stimulated Ca\n                  <jats:sup>2+<\/jats:sup>\n                  transients increased in SNs derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells when exposed to conditioned media from primary human IVD cells, demonstrating the translation of this model system to human cells. Together, these results establish a versatile platform that enables controlled and simultaneous exposure to biochemical and electrical stimuli to quantify inflammation-driven peripheral neuronal hyperexcitability in tissue\u2013neuron crosstalk.\n                <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.64898\/2026.07.29.741573","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T14:40:17Z","timestamp":1785422417000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A PDMS-based microfluidic platform enabling dual biochemical and electric-field stimulation for modeling sensory neuron-intervertebral disc crosstalk"],"prefix":"10.64898","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-9044-9551","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Olanrewaju","family":"Akande","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, One Brookings Dr., St. Louis, MO 63130"},{"name":"Department of Orthopedics Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. 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