Issue 15, 2019

Microfluidic technologies for vasculature biomimicry

Abstract

Microfluidic technology has been extensively employed in biology and medicine since the field emerged in the 1990s. By utilizing microfluidic approaches, a variety of vascular system-related structures and functions have been mimicked on in vitro platforms. Herein, we begin by introducing microfluidic circulatory devices for the study of two-dimensional (2D) endothelial cells culture. Next, we focus on recent progress on on-chip mimicry of native vasculature, specifically generation of complex three-dimensional (3D) structures within cell-laden hydrogels using microfluidics and self-assembly-based methods. The utilization of microfluidic technology will facilitate the construction of progressively biomimetic in vitro models that have great potential in complementing existing animal models. We envision such platforms to be utilized in a wide range of applications involving vascular systems, including microphysiological studies, drug screening, and disease modeling.

Graphical abstract: Microfluidic technologies for vasculature biomimicry

Article information

Article type
Minireview
Submitted
05 3 2019
Accepted
28 5 2019
First published
31 5 2019

Analyst, 2019,144, 4461-4471

Microfluidic technologies for vasculature biomimicry

C. Hu, Y. Chen, M. J. A. Tan, K. Ren and H. Wu, Analyst, 2019, 144, 4461 DOI: 10.1039/C9AN00421A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements