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Updated: Sep 4, 2025
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Fabrication of Engineered Vascular Flaps Using 3D Printing Technologies
Published on: May 19, 2022
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Biomimetic Vasculatures by 3D-Printed Porous Molds.
Terry Ching1,2,3, Jyothsna Vasudevan1,3, Shu-Yung Chang1,2
1Pillar of Engineering Product Development, Singapore University of Technology and Design, 8 Somapah Rd, Singapore, 487372, Singapore.
Small (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|July 22, 2022
Summary
Researchers developed a novel biofabrication method using microfluidics and coaxial bioprinting to create advanced, cell-laden vascular models. These freestanding, branching, multilayered, and perfusable constructs mimic native vessels for disease research and therapeutic testing.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Tissue Engineering
- Cardiovascular Research
Background:
- Current biofabrication methods struggle to replicate the complex, multi-attribute nature of native vasculature.
- Existing vascular models often lack simultaneous freestanding, branching, multilayered, and perfusable characteristics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an advanced biofabrication technique for creating anatomically relevant, cell-laden vascular constructs.
- To achieve simultaneous freestanding, branching, multilayered, and perfusable attributes in engineered vascular models.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a microfluidics-enabled molding technique with 3D porous molds (poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate) as calcium ion-releasing templates.
- Integrated coaxial bioprinting to fabricate cell-laden hydrogel vascular constructs.
- Tailored bioinks for cell compatibility and mechanical properties mimicking native blood vessels.
Main Results:
- Successfully fabricated freestanding, perfusable vascular constructs with complex geometries.
- Demonstrated integration of vascular cells (smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells) in a biomimetic, multilayer configuration.
- Showcased the utility of fabricated vessels for testing percutaneous coronary interventions under physiological conditions.
Conclusions:
- Introduced a versatile biofabrication technique enabling the generation of multifaceted, biomimetic vascular models.
- These engineered vascular constructs hold significant potential for advancing cardiovascular disease research and therapeutic development.
