In vitro perfusion of engineered heart tissue through endothelialized channels.

In engineered heart tissues (EHT), oxygen and nutrient supply via mere diffusion is a likely factor limiting the thickness of cardiac muscle strands. Here, we report on a novel method to in vitro perfuse EHT through tubular channels. Adapting our previously published protocols, we expanded a miniaturized fibrin-based EHT-format to a larger six-well format with six flexible silicone posts holding each EHT (15×25×3 mm³).