Vessel ‐on‐a‐chip with Hydrogel‐based Microfluidics

This study presents a method of fabricating hydrogel ‐based microfluidics with a twice cross‐linking strategy. Based on this method, a vessel‐on‐a‐chip system is established. It is feasible to realize the vascular function in both physiological and pathological situations, offering a model for investigation of vascularization, vascular infla mmation, tissue engineering, and drug development. AbstractHydrogel structures equipped with internal microchannels offer more in vivo ‐relevant models for construction of tissues and organs in vitro. However, currently used microfabrication methods of constructing microfluidic devices are not suitable for the handling of hydrogel. This study presents a novel method of fabricating hydrogel‐based microfluidic chips by combining the casting and bonding processes. A twice cross‐linking strategy is designed to obtain a bonding interface that has the same strength with the hydrogel bulk, which can be applied to arbitrary combinations of hydrogels. It is convenient to achieve the construction of hydrogel structures with chann els in branched, spiral, serpentine, and multilayer forms. The experimental results show that the combination of gelatin and gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) owns the best biocompatibility and can promote cell functionalization. Based on these, a vessel‐on‐a‐chip system with vascular function in b oth physiological and pathological situations is established, providing a promising model for further investi...

Source: Small - November 8, 2018 Category: Nanotechnology Authors: Jing Nie, Qing Gao, Yidong Wang, Jiahui Zeng, Haiming Zhao, Yuan Sun, Jian Shen, Hamed Ramezani, Zhenliang Fu, Zhenjie Liu, Meixiang Xiang, Jianzhong Fu, Peng Zhao, Wei Chen, Yong He Tags: Full Paper Source Type: research