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Updated: Feb 6, 2026
11:28
3D Microtissues for Injectable Regenerative Therapy and High-throughput Drug Screening
Published on: October 4, 2017
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Funnel-Guided Positioning of Multicellular Microtissues to Build Macrotissues
Kali L Manning1,2, Andrew H Thomson1, Jeffrey R Morgan1,2
11 Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology and Biotechnology, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.
Tissue Engineering. Part C, Methods
|August 15, 2018
Summary
A new funnel-guide (FG) strategy enables precise, noncontact manipulation of multicellular microtissues. This additive manufacturing technique allows layer-by-layer stacking to create larger, fused tissue structures for regenerative medicine applications.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Tissue Engineering
- Regenerative Medicine
Background:
- Additive manufacturing is crucial for fabricating 3D living constructs.
- Existing methods face challenges in precise microtissue manipulation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce the funnel-guide (FG) as a novel additive manufacturing strategy.
- To demonstrate FG's capability for noncontact manipulation and positioning of microtissues.
- To show FG's application in building macrotissues layer by layer.
Main Methods:
- Self-assembly of cells into microtissues using agarose micromolds.
- Utilizing a funnel-guide to direct and stack microtissues in culture medium.
- Testing various cell types and microtissue sizes for fusion and structure formation.
Main Results:
- Microtissues spontaneously oriented horizontally when falling.
- The FG successfully guided and positioned microtissues.
- Fabricated tubular structures by stacking and fusing up to 45 toroids.
- Created a 5 mm long tube with a 600 μm inner diameter.
Conclusions:
- The funnel-guide (FG) offers a new principle for microtissue manipulation.
- FG facilitates layer-by-layer assembly of microtissue building blocks into macrotissues.
- This technique holds promise for advanced tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
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