Vascular Microphysiological System for Investigating Endothelial Barrier Function During Organ Preservation and Reperfusion.

Endothelial cell damage after cold preservation and reperfusion injury causes deterioration of the endothelial barrier and ultimately results in edema, leading to transplant failure. Here, a vascular microphysiological system (MPS) is introduced as a testbed to investigate the combinational effect of thermal and fluid perturbations (i.e.

Stem cell-based vascularization of microphysiological systems.

Microphysiological systems (MPSs) (i.e., tissue or organ chips) exploit microfluidics and 3D cell culture to mimic tissue and organ-level physiology.

Guided assembly of cancer ellipsoid on suspended hydrogel microfibers estimates multi-cellular traction force.

Three-dimensional (3D) multi-cellular aggregates hold important applications in tissue engineering and in vitro biological modeling. Probing the intrinsic forces generated during the aggregation process, could open up new possibilities in advancing the discovery of tissue mechanics-based biomarkers. We use individually suspended, and tethered gelatin hydrogel microfibers to guide multicellular aggregation of brain cancer cells (glioblastoma cell line, U87), forming characteristic cancer 'ellipsoids'.

Fabrication of Designable and Suspended Microfibers via Low-Voltage 3D Micropatterning.

Building two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) fibrous structures in the micro- and nanoscale will offer exciting prospects for numerous applications spanning from sensors to energy storage and tissue engineering scaffolds. Electrospinning is a well-suited technique for drawing micro- to nanoscale fibers, but current methods of building electrospun fibers in 3D are restrictive in terms of printed height, design of macroscopic fiber networks, and choice of polymer. Here, we combine low-voltage electrospinning and additive manufacturing as a method to pattern layers of suspended mesofibers.

Multi-length scale bioprinting towards simulating microenvironmental cues.

It is envisaged that the creation of cellular environments at multiple length scales, that recapitulate in vivo bioactive and structural roles, may hold the key to creating functional, complex tissues in the laboratory. This review considers recent advances in biofabrication and bioprinting techniques across different length scales. Particular focus is placed on 3D printing of hydrogels and fabrication of biomaterial fibres that could extend the feature resolution and material functionality of soft tissue constructs.

Solution fibre spinning technique for the fabrication of tuneable decellularised matrix-laden fibres and fibrous micromembranes.

Unlabelled: Recreating tissue-specific microenvironments of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in vitro is of broad interest for the fields of tissue engineering and organ-on-a-chip. Here, we present biofunctional ECM protein fibres and suspended membranes, with tuneable biochemical, mechanical and topographical properties. This soft and entirely biologic membrane scaffold, formed by micro-nano-fibres using low voltage electrospinning, displays three unique characteristics for potential cell culture applications: high-content of key ECM proteins, single-layered mesh membrane, and flexibility for in situ integration into a range of device setups.

Microfluidic on-chip biomimicry for 3D cell culture: a fit-for-purpose investigation from the end user standpoint.

A plethora of 3D and microfluidics-based culture models have been demonstrated in the recent years with the ultimate aim to facilitate predictive models for pharmaceutical development. This article summarizes to date the progress in the microfluidics-based tissue culture models, including organ-on-a-chip and vasculature-on-a-chip. Specific focus is placed on addressing the question of what kinds of 3D culture and system complexities are deemed desirable by the biological and biomedical community.

Low-Voltage Continuous Electrospinning Patterning.

Electrospinning is a versatile technique for the construction of microfibrous and nanofibrous structures with considerable potential in applications ranging from textile manufacturing to tissue engineering scaffolds. In the simplest form, electrospinning uses a high voltage of tens of thousands volts to draw out ultrafine polymer fibers over a large distance. However, the high voltage limits the flexible combination of material selection, deposition substrate, and control of patterns.