Instrumented cardiac microphysiological devices via multimaterial three-dimensional printing.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Tissue Engineering
• Cardiovascular Research

Background:

• Traditional biomedical research relies on animal models and cell cultures.
• Microphysiological systems (MPS), or organs-on-chips, offer in vitro tissue recapitulation but often lack integrated sensors and involve complex fabrication.
• Current limitations hinder real-time functional assessment of engineered tissues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a facile fabrication method for instrumented cardiac microphysiological devices.
• To integrate soft strain gauge sensors into cardiac organs-on-chips using 3D printing.
• To enable non-invasive monitoring of cardiac tissue contractile function and drug responses.

Main Methods:

• Utilized multimaterial 3D printing to create cardiac microphysiological devices.
• Developed six functional inks including piezo-resistive, conductive, and biocompatible materials.
• Designed micro-architectures to guide self-assembly of laminar cardiac tissues with embedded soft strain gauge sensors.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated instrumented cardiac microphysiological devices using a facile 3D printing route.
• Embedded soft strain gauge sensors provided non-invasive, electronic readouts of tissue contractile stresses within incubators.
• Demonstrated the application of these devices for studying drug responses and contractile development of human stem cell-derived cardiac tissues over four weeks.

Conclusions:

• 3D printing enables facile fabrication of advanced cardiac microphysiological systems with integrated sensing capabilities.
• The developed instrumented organs-on-chips provide a powerful platform for non-invasive monitoring of engineered cardiac tissues.
• This technology facilitates in vitro drug screening and long-term studies of cardiac tissue development and function.