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Updated: Jul 19, 2025
Author Spotlight: EasyFlow - An Economical and Adaptable Perfusion Bioreactor for Large Blood Vessel Culture
Published on: July 28, 2023
Ex Vivo Perfusion Culture of Large Blood Vessels in a 3D Printed Bioreactor
Rolando S Matos1, Akram Jassim Jawad2, Davide Maselli2
1Department of Biochemical Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Surrey; r.matos@surrey.ac.uk.
Insights
A novel 3D printed perfusion bioreactor system allows for the study of blood vessels ex vivo. This reproducible model aids in understanding vascular disease and developing new cardiovascular disease therapeutics.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Vascular Biology
- Regenerative Medicine
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a leading cause of global mortality, largely driven by vascular disease.
- Current translational models for studying vascular disease are limited, hindering therapeutic development.
- Existing ex vivo perfusion bioreactors are often custom-made, limiting reproducibility and accessibility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a standardized, 3D-printed ex vivo perfusion culture system for large blood vessels.
- To provide a detailed protocol for the setup and operation of the bioreactor system.
- To facilitate research into the physiological and pathological processes of vascular disease and accelerate therapeutic discovery.
Main Methods:
- Design and fabrication of a 3D-printed perfusion bioreactor system.
- Establishment of a detailed protocol for ex vivo culture of blood vessels.
- Perfusion culture of large animal blood vessels under physiological conditions for up to 7 days.
Main Results:
- Successful development of an easily producible and reproducible 3D-printed perfusion bioreactor.
- Demonstration of the system's capability to maintain blood vessels ex vivo under physiological conditions for 7 days.
- Establishment of a standardized protocol for bioreactor setup and operation.
Conclusions:
- The 3D-printed perfusion bioreactor offers a standardized, accessible, and reproducible platform for studying vascular disease.
- This system will enhance the understanding of vascular physiology and pathology in large animal models.
- Adoption of this standardized bioreactor is expected to accelerate the discovery of novel cardiovascular therapeutics.
Abstract:
Vascular disease forms the basis of most cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), which remain the primary cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Efficacious surgical and pharmacological interventions to prevent and treat vascular disease are urgently needed. In part, the shortage of translational models limits the understanding of the cellular and molecular processes involved in vascular disease. Ex vivo perfusion culture bioreactors provide an ideal platform for the study of large animal vessels (including humans) in a controlled dynamic environment, combining the ease of in vitro culture and the complexity of the live tissue. Most bioreactors are, however, custom manufactured and therefore difficult to adopt, limiting the reproducibility of the results. This paper presents a 3D printed system that can be easily produced and applied in any biological lab, and provides a detailed protocol for its setup, enabling users' operation. This innovative and reproducible ex vivo perfusion culture system enables the culture of blood vessels for up to 7 days in physiological conditions. We expect that adopting a standardized perfusion bioreactor will support a better understanding of physiological and pathological processes in large animal blood vessels and accelerate the discovery of new therapeutics.
