Fig. 2
Microfluidic approaches to in vitro microvascular engineering. a Schematic of self-supporting 3D printed carbohydrate-glass lattice that is encapsulated. Once the lattice is dissolved, a perfusable network results. Living cells can be placed within the ectracellular matrix and within the perfusable channels. b (Left) Schematic protocol of microfluidic device construction by bonding micropatterned hydrogel and thin layer to form microvascular channel network. (Right) Top and cross-sectional views of confocal Z-stacks showing endothelial-lined microvascular channels. Red is CD31 and blue are nuclei. Scale bar is 100 μm. c (Top) Microfluidic platform made from PDMS that consists of a daisy chain of microtissue chambers connected by pores and loaded with extracellular matrix, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts. (Bottom) Brightfield and CD31 immunofluroescent staining demonstrating microvascular networks formed by endothelial self-assembly. Scale bar is 200 μm. Figures reproduced and modified from [46, 47, 48] with permissions from Nature publishing, PNAS, Tissue engineering part c. Scale bar is 50 μm
