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Microfluidic Bioprinting for Engineering Vascularized Tissues and Organoids
Published on: August 11, 2017
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Fabrication of microvascular constructs using high resolution electrohydrodynamic inkjet printing
Fei Zheng1, Brian Derby1, Jason Wong2
1Department of Materials, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom.
Biofabrication
|December 7, 2020
Summary
Electrohydrodynamic inkjet printing successfully fabricated microvascular tissues with 30μm channels, mimicking native capillaries. This advance in tissue engineering supports cell viability and offers new strategies for biomedical applications.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Tissue Engineering
- Microfluidics
Background:
- Fabricating intricate vasculature in engineered tissues is a significant challenge.
- Existing methods struggle to replicate the fine, hierarchical structures of native microvasculature.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a high-resolution method for creating hydrogel-based microvascular tissues.
- To utilize electrohydrodynamic (EHD) inkjet printing for precise vascular network fabrication.
Main Methods:
- Employing EHD inkjet printing with Pluronic F127 (sacrificial template) and gelatin methacryloyl (permanent matrix).
- Utilizing complementary thermoreversible gelling properties of the hydrogels.
- Co-culturing human dermal fibroblasts and human umbilical vein endothelial cells.
Main Results:
- Achieved microvascular tissues with hierarchical and branching channels, minimum feature size of 30μm.
- Demonstrated high cell viability for co-cultured cells over 21 days.
- Maintained tissue-specific morphology under perfusion.
Conclusions:
- EHD inkjet printing enables the creation of cellularized, vascularized proto-tissues with high spatial resolution.
- This technique provides a novel strategy for developing advanced vascular models.
- Potential impact on diverse biomedical applications, including regenerative medicine and drug testing.
