Figure 3: Engineered in vitro endothelialized microfluidic channels.
From: Magnetic forces enable controlled drug delivery by disrupting endothelial cell-cell junctions
(a) Macroscopic view of a PDMS microdevice filled with red food colour. (b) CAD-based geometric pattern of the microfluidic system. The smallest channels in this pattern are 30 μm in width, and the height of the channels after fabrication is also 30 μm. (c) A schematic diagram showing the process of ‘endothelization’ of the microfluidic channel. The endothelialized channel is maintained under constant, physiologic flow conditions. (d) A representative confocal image of the cross-section of the smallest channel after endothelial cells reach confluency (blue, nuclei; green, actin). (e) In the engineered endothelium, F-actin fibres (red) were localized at the cell–cell interface and stress fibres (red) are aligned with the flow (blue, nuclei). (f) The engineered endothelium comprises continuous adherens junctions, as shown on anti-VE-cadherin staining (green). Scale bar, 30 μm.
