The Development and Functional Validation of Engineered Microvessels Using Microfluidic Devices

Microfluidic technologies have enabled in vitro studies to closely simulate the in vivo microvessel environment with sufficient complexity. However, the lack of functional validation has prevented their broader application for biomedical research. The objective of this study is to develop in vitro microvessel network and compare their biological responses with intact microvessels. Standard photolithography was used for the master mold fabrication and polydimethylsiloxane soft lithography was used for the microfluidic microchannel network fabrication. The microchannels used for this study has three level branching network with the smallest diameter at 100 mm. Primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells were successfully cultured along the entire inner surface of the microchannel network in 3-4 days under a constant flow of culture media. Confocal immunofluorescence imaging shows well-developed VE-cadherin at EC junctions throughout the channels and the cell morphology is close to ECs in intact venules. ...