Fabrication of a Perfusable Artificial Microvascular Chip
摘要
In this study, a reticle mask based on the actual size of the capillaries was designed, and the corresponding structure was prepared by the soft lithography. The biodegradable and biocompatible fibrin was selected as the scaffold material. A light-curing printer was used to make an infusion device to overcome the pressure drop problem during the perfusion of the fibrin to form the scaffold. Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial cells (HUVECs) were then cultured on the surface of the scaffold, and the hybrid hydrogel with plasmin being coated on the scaffold filled with cells. After degrading of the fibrin by plasmin, an artificial microvessel of nearly actual size was formed. Finally, a micro-channel perfusion system was set up to observe the infusion of the fabricated artificial microvessel network. The experimental results show that this study can produce artificial microvessels (10 μm) close to the actual size, and overcome the pressure drop and shear stress problem during the formation of low-scale microchannels.