Fig. 1

Manufactured flow insert development and validation. (a) Schematic of fluidic hToC device with flow insert and tubing, indicating inlet flow in red and outlet flow in blue across the ultrathin, silicon nitride nanomembrane. (b) Exploded view of flow insert layers: L1 = polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), L2 = pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA), L3 = polyethylene terephthalate (PET), L4 = PSA. These four layers comprise the flow ports and flow channel. (c) COMSOL fluid dynamics simulation showing a shear stress map of the flow channel at a flow rate of 500 µl/min. The consistent shear stress over the boxed culture region confirms a uniform flow profile. (d) Representative 10 × 10 manufactured array of flow inserts, with inset showing a single flow insert unit. Image of fully assembled fluidic hToC, demonstrating phase imaging clarity of endothelial cell monolayer cultured in the flow channel. (e) Relative cell viability as measured by XTT assay of ECs cultured with insert-conditioned EGM-2 or X-VIVO media. Absorbance normalized to untreated negative control. We observed no differences in cell viability between the treatment conditions as tested by one-way ANOVA, confirming the biocompatibility of the flow insert materials.