Fabrication of Microtube-Embedded Chip to Mimic Blood-Brain Barrier Capillary Vessels.

Capillary vessels of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) regulate the transportation of solutes into the brain and provide defense against the disease-causing pathogens and neurotoxins present in the blood. Paradoxically, this regulation also prevents drug transportation into the brain. These unique characteristics of the BBB cause impediment in the treatment of neurological diseases.

Fabrication of Nanopores Polylactic Acid Microtubes by Core-Sheath Electrospinning for Capillary Vascularization.

There has been substantial progress in tissue engineering of biological substitutes for medical applications. One of the major challenges in development of complex tissues is the difficulty of creating vascular networks for engineered constructs. The diameter of current artificial vascular channels is usually at millimeter or submillimeter level, while human capillaries are about 5 to 10 µm in diameter.

Musculoskeletal Tissue Engineering Using Fibrous Biomaterials.

In tissue engineering, scaffolds should provide the topological and physical cues as native tissues to guide cell adhesion, growth, migration, and differentiation. Fibrous structure is commonly present in human musculoskeletal tissues, including muscles, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage. Biomimetic fibrous scaffolds are thus critical for musculoskeletal tissue engineering.

ZnO Nanowire-Anchored Microfluidic Device With Herringbone Structure Fabricated by Maskless Photolithography.

The integration of nanomaterials in microfluidic devices has emerged as a new research paradigm. Microfluidic devices composed of ZnO nanowires have been developed for the collection of urine extracellular vesicles (EVs) at high efficiency and in situ extraction of various microRNAs (miRNAs). The devices can be used for diagnosing various diseases, including kidney diseases and cancers.

Laser engineered net shaping of antimicrobial and biocompatible titanium-silver alloys.

Post-surgery infection is one of the main causes of orthopedic implant failure. This paper presents a powder-feed 3D printing strategy for fabrication of silver (Ag) incorporated titanium (Ti) alloys as an antimicrobial solution for orthopedic implants. Alloys with various Ag concentration, ranging from 0.

Hybrid Additive Microfabrication Scaffold Incorporated with Highly Aligned Nanofibers for Musculoskeletal Tissues.

Background: Latest tissue engineering strategies for musculoskeletal tissues regeneration focus on creating a biomimetic microenvironment closely resembling the natural topology of extracellular matrix. This paper presents a novel musculoskeletal tissue scaffold fabricated by hybrid additive manufacturing method.

Methods: The skeleton of the scaffold was 3D printed by fused deposition modeling, and a layer of random or aligned polycaprolactone nanofibers were embedded between two frames.