Bioreactor for modulation of cardiac microtissue phenotype by combined static stretch and electrical stimulation.

We describe here a bioreactor capable of applying electrical field stimulation in conjunction with static strain and on-line force of contraction measurements. It consisted of a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) tissue chamber and a pneumatically driven stretch platform. The chamber contained eight tissue microwells (8.

Enrichment of live unlabelled cardiomyocytes from heterogeneous cell populations using manipulation of cell settling velocity by magnetic field.

The majority of available cardiomyocyte markers are intercellular proteins, limiting our ability to enrich live cardiomyocytes from heterogeneous cell preparations in the absence of genetic labeling. Here, we describe enrichment of live cardiomyocytes from the hearts of adult mice in a label-free microfluidic approach. The separation device consisted of a vertical column (15 mm long, 700 μm diameter), placed between permanent magnets resulting in a field strength of 1.

Fusible core molding for the fabrication of branched, perfusable, three-dimensional microvessels for vascular tissue engineering.

A novel method for fabrication of branched, tubular, perfusable microvessels for use in vascular tissue engineering is reported. A tubular, elastomeric, biodegradable scaffold is first fabricated via a new, double fusible injection molding technique that uses a ternary alloy with a low melting temperature, Field's metal, and paraffin as sacrificial components. A cylindrical core metal of 500 μm or lower dia-meter with the target branching scaffold geometry is first constructed, then the metal structure is coated with paraffin and, finally, the metal-paraffin construct is embedded in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS).

A vapor-assisted method for adhering polydimethylsiloxane and glass.

A straightforward and inexpensive method to increase the adhesion strength of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and glass is described. In this method the targeted PDMS-glass sample is exposed to a fluoroalkyl trichlorosilane vapor in an enclosed container for a certain time. It is experimentally shown that the adhesion strength of the resulted interface depends on the exposure duration.