Microfabrication of three-dimensional engineered scaffolds

Computational methods for biofabrication in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine - a literature review

This literature review rigorously examines the growing scientific interest in computational methods for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine biofabrication, a leading-edge area in biomedical innovation, emphasizing the need for accurate, multi-stage, and multi-component biofabrication process models. The paper presents a comprehensive bibliometric and contextual analysis, followed by a literature review, to shed light on the vast potential of computational methods in this domain. It reveals that most existing methods focus on single biofabrication process stages and components, and there is a significant gap in approaches that utilize accurate models encompassing both biological and technological aspects. This analysis underscores the indispensable role of these methods in understanding and effectively manipulating complex biological systems and the necessity for developing computational methods that span multiple stages and components. The review concludes that such comprehensive computational methods are essential for developing innovative and efficient Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine biofabrication solutions, driving forward advancements in this dynamic and evolving field.

Sustainable biofabrication: from bioprinting to AI-driven predictive methods

Biofabrication is potentially an inherently sustainable manufacturing process of bio-hybrid systems based on biomaterials embedded with cell communities. These bio-hybrids promise to augment the sustainability of various human activities, ranging from tissue engineering and robotics to civil engineering and ecology. However, as routine biofabrication practices are laborious and energetically disadvantageous, our society must refine production and validation processes in biomanufacturing. This opinion highlights the research trends in sustainable material selection and biofabrication techniques. By modeling complex biosystems, the computational prediction will allow biofabrication to shift from an error-trial method to an efficient, target-optimized approach with minimized resource and energy consumption. We envision that implementing bionomic rationality in biofabrication will render bio-hybrid products fruitful for greening human activities.

The Impact of Ultrashort Pulse Laser Structuring of Metals on In-Vitro Cell Adhesion of Keratinocytes

Besides the need for biomaterial surface modification to improve cellular attachment, laser-structuring is favorable for designing a new surface topography for external bone fixator pins or implants. The principle of this study was to observe how bioinspired (deer antler) laser-induced nano-microstructures influenced the adhesion and growth of skin cells. The goal was to create pins that allow the skin to attach to the biomaterial surface in a bacteria-proof manner. Therefore, typical fixator metals, steel, and titanium alloy were structured using ultrashort laser pulses, which resulted in periodical nano- and microstructures. Surface characteristics were investigated using a laser scanning microscope and static water contact angle measurements. In vitro studies with human HaCaT keratinocytes focused on cell adhesion, morphology, actin formation, and growth within 7 days. The study showed that surface functionalization influenced cell attachment, spreading, and proliferation. Micro-dimple clusters on polished bulk metals (DC20) will not hinder viability. Still, they will not promote the initial adhesion and spreading of HaCaTs. In contrast, additional nanostructuring with laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) promotes cell behavior. DC20 + LIPSS induced enhanced cell attachment with well-spread cell morphology. Thus, the bioinspired structures exhibited a benefit in initial cell adhesion. Laser surface functionalization opens up new possibilities for structuring, and is relevant to developing bioactive implants in regenerative medicine.

Integration of Extracellular Matrices into Organ-on-Chip Systems

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a complex, dynamic network present within all tissues and organs that not only acts as a mechanical support and anchorage point but can also direct fundamental cell behavior, function, and characteristics. Although the importance of the ECM is well established, the integration of well-controlled ECMs into Organ-on-Chip (OoC) platforms remains challenging and the methods to modulate and assess ECM properties on OoCs remain underdeveloped. In this review, current state-of-the-art design and assessment of in vitro ECM environments is discussed with a focus on their integration into OoCs. Among other things, synthetic and natural hydrogels, as well as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) used as substrates, coatings, or cell culture membranes are reviewed in terms of their ability to mimic the native ECM and their accessibility for characterization. The intricate interplay among materials, OoC architecture, and ECM characterization is critically discussed as it significantly complicates the design of ECM-related studies, comparability between works, and reproducibility that can be achieved across research laboratories. Improving the biomimetic nature of OoCs by integrating properly considered ECMs would contribute to their further adoption as replacements for animal models, and precisely tailored ECM properties would promote the use of OoCs in mechanobiology.

The microfluidic artificial lung: Mimicking nature's blood path design to solve the biocompatibility paradox

The increasing prevalence of chronic lung disease worldwide, combined with the emergence of multiple pandemics arising from respiratory viruses over the past century, highlights the need for safer and efficacious means for providing artificial lung support. Mechanical ventilation is currently used for the vast majority of patients suffering from acute and chronic lung failure, but risks further injury or infection to the patient's already compromised lung function. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has emerged as a means of providing direct gas exchange with the blood, but limited access to the technology and the complexity of the blood circuit have prevented the broader expansion of its use. A promising avenue toward simplifying and minimizing complications arising from the blood circuit, microfluidics-based artificial organ support, has emerged over the past decade as an opportunity to overcome many of the fundamental limitations of the current standard for ECMO cartridges, hollow fiber membrane oxygenators. The power of microfluidics technology for this application stems from its ability to recapitulate key aspects of physiological microcirculation, including the small dimensions of blood vessel structures and gas transfer membranes. An even greater advantage of microfluidics, the ability to configure blood flow patterns that mimic the smooth, branching nature of vascular networks, holds the potential to reduce the incidence of clotting and bleeding and to minimize reliance on anticoagulants. Here, we summarize recent progress and address future directions and goals for this potentially transformative approach to artificial lung support.

Microfluidic Encapsulation of Single Cells by Alginate Microgels Using a Trigger-Gellified Strategy

Microfluidics-based alginate microgels have shown great potential to encapsulate cells in a high-throughput and controllable manner. However, cell viability and biological functions are substantially compromised due to the harsh conditions for gelation, which remains a major challenge for cell encapsulation. Herein, we presented an efficient and biocompatible method by on-chip triggered gelation to generate microfluidic alginate microgels for single-cell encapsulation. Two calcium complexes of calcium–ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (Ca-EDTA) and calcium–nitrilotriacetic (Ca-NTA) as crosslinkers for triggered gelation of alginate were compared and investigated for feasible application. By triggered release of Ca²⁺ ions from the calcium complex via adding acetic acid in the oil phase, the alginate precursor in the aqueous droplets can be crosslinked to form alginate microgels. Although using Ca-EDTA and Ca-NTA both achieved on-chip gelation, Ca-NTA led to significantly higher cell viability since the dissociation of Ca²⁺ ions from Ca-NTA can be obtained using less concentration of acid compared to Ca-EDTA. We further demonstrated the functionality of encapsulated mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in alginate microgels prepared using Ca-NTA, as evidenced by the osteogenesis of encapsulated MSCs upon inductive culture. In summary, our study provided a biocompatible strategy to prepare alginate microgels for single-cell encapsulation which can be further used for applications in tissue engineering and cell therapies.

Multiple functions of microfluidic platforms: Characterization and applications in tissue engineering and diagnosis of cancer

Microfluidic system, or lab-on-a-chip, has grown explosively. This system has been used in research for the first time and then entered in the clinical section. Due to economic reasons, this technique has been used for screening of laboratory and clinical indices. The microfluidic system solves some difficulties accompanied by clinical and biological applications. In this review, the interpretation and analysis of some recent developments in microfluidic systems in biomedical applications with more emphasis on tissue engineering and cancer will be discussed. Moreover, we try to discuss the features and functions of microfluidic systems.

Robust Tracing and Visualization of Heterogeneous Microvascular Networks

Advances in high-throughput imaging allow researchers to collect three-dimensional images of whole organ microvascular networks. These extremely large images contain networks that are highly complex, time consuming to segment, and difficult to visualize. In this paper, we present a framework for segmenting and visualizing vascular networks from terabyte-sized three-dimensional images collected using high-throughput microscopy. While these images require terabytes of storage, the volume devoted to the fiber network is ≈ 4 percent of the total volume size. While the networks themselves are sparse, they are tremendously complex, interconnected, and vary widely in diameter. We describe a parallel GPU-based predictor-corrector method for tracing filaments that is robust to noise and sampling errors common in these data sets. We also propose a number of visualization techniques designed to convey the complex statistical descriptions of fibers across large tissue sections-including commonly studied microvascular characteristics, such as orientation and volume.

Osmosis, from molecular insights to large-scale applications

Osmosis is a universal phenomenon occurring in a broad variety of processes and fields. It is the archetype of entropic forces, both trivial in its fundamental expression - the van 't Hoff perfect gas law - and highly subtle in its physical roots. While osmosis is intimately linked with transport across membranes, it also manifests itself as an interfacial transport phenomenon: the so-called diffusio-osmosis and -phoresis, whose consequences are presently actively explored for example for the manipulation of colloidal suspensions or the development of active colloidal swimmers. Here we give a global and unifying view of the phenomenon of osmosis and its consequences with a multi-disciplinary perspective. Pushing the fundamental understanding of osmosis allows one to propose new perspectives for different fields and we highlight a number of examples along these lines, for example introducing the concepts of osmotic diodes, active separation and far from equilibrium osmosis, raising in turn fundamental questions in the thermodynamics of separation. The applications of osmosis are also obviously considerable and span very diverse fields. Here we discuss a selection of phenomena and applications where osmosis shows great promises: osmotic phenomena in membrane science (with recent developments in separation, desalination, reverse osmosis for water purification thanks in particular to the emergence of new nanomaterials); applications in biology and health (in particular discussing the kidney filtration process); osmosis and energy harvesting (in particular, osmotic power and blue energy as well as capacitive mixing); applications in detergency and cleaning, as well as for oil recovery in porous media.

Cardiac tissue regeneration: A preliminary study on carbon-based nanotubes gelatin scaffold

The aim of this study was set-up and test of gelatin and carbon nanotubes scaffolds. Gelatin-based (5%) genipin cross-linked (0.2%) scaffolds embedding single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9, and 1.3% w/w) were prepared and mechanically/electrically characterized. For biological evaluation, H9c2 cell line was cultured for 10 days. Cytotoxicity, cell growth and differentiation, immunohistochemistry, and real-time PCR analysis were performed. Myoblast and cardiac differentiation were obtained by serum reduction to 1% (C_1% ) and stimulation with 50 nM all trans-retinoic acid (C_RA ), respectively. Immunohistochemistry showed elongated myotubes in C_1% while round and multinucleated cells in C_RA with also a significantly increased expression of natriuretic peptides (NP) and ET-1 receptors in parallel with a decreased ET-1. On scaffolds, cell viability was similar for Gel-SWCNT_0.3%/0.9% ; NP and ET systems expression decreased in both concentrations with respect to control and CX-43, mainly due to a lacking of complete differentiation in cardiac phenotype during that time. Although further analyses on novel biomaterials are necessary, these results represent a useful starting point to develop new biomaterial-based scaffolds. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 106B: 2750-2762, 2018.

The recent development and applications of fluidic channels by 3D printing

The technology of “Lab-on-a-Chip” allows the synthesis and analysis of chemicals and biological substance within a portable or handheld device. The 3D printed structures enable precise control of various geometries. The combination of these two technologies in recent years makes a significant progress. The current approaches of 3D printing, such as stereolithography, polyjet, and fused deposition modeling, are introduced. Their manufacture specifications, such as surface roughness, resolution, replication fidelity, cost, and fabrication time, are compared with each other. Finally, novel application of 3D printed channel in biology are reviewed, including pathogenic bacteria detection using magnetic nanoparticle clusters in a helical microchannel, cell stimulation by 3D chemical gradients, perfused functional vascular channels, 3D tissue construct, organ-on-a-chip, and miniaturized fluidic “reactionware” devices for chemical syntheses. Overall, the 3D printed fluidic chip is becoming a powerful tool in the both medical and chemical industries.

From honeycomb- to microsphere-patterned surfaces of poly(lactic acid) and a starch-poly(lactic acid) blend via the breath figure method

BACKGROUND

This study investigated the preparation of ordered patterned surfaces and/or microspheres from a natural-based polymer, using the breath figure and reverse breath figure methods.

METHODS

Poly(D,L-lactic acid) and starch poly(lactic acid) solutions were precipitated in different conditions - namely, polymer concentration, vapor atmosphere temperature and substrate - to evaluate the effect of these conditions on the morphology of the precipitates obtained.

RESULTS

The possibility of fine-tuning the properties of the final patterns simply by changing the vapor atmosphere was also demonstrated here using a range of compositions of the vapor phase. Porous films or discrete particles are formed when the differences in surface tension determine the ability of polymer solution to surround water droplets or methanol to surround polymer droplets, respectively. In vitro cytotoxicity was assessed applying a simple standard protocol to evaluate the possibility to use these materials in biomedical applications. Moreover, fluorescent microscopy images showed a good interaction of cells with the material, which were able to adhere on the patterned surfaces after 24 hours in culture.

CONCLUSIONS

The development of patterned surfaces using the breath figure method was tested in this work for the preparation of both poly(lactic acid) and a blend containing starch and poly(lactic acid). The potential of these films to be used in the biomedical area was confirmed by a preliminary cytotoxicity test and by morphological observation of cell adhesion.

Advancing the field of 3D biomaterial printing

3D biomaterial printing has emerged as a potentially revolutionary technology, promising to transform both research and medical therapeutics. Although there has been recent progress in the field, on-demand fabrication of functional and transplantable tissues and organs is still a distant reality. To advance to this point, there are two major technical challenges that must be overcome. The first is expanding upon the limited variety of available 3D printable biomaterials (biomaterial inks), which currently do not adequately represent the physical, chemical, and biological complexity and diversity of tissues and organs within the human body. Newly developed biomaterial inks and the resulting 3D printed constructs must meet numerous interdependent requirements, including those that lead to optimal printing, structural, and biological outcomes. The second challenge is developing and implementing comprehensive biomaterial ink and printed structure characterization combined with in vitro and in vivo tissue- and organ-specific evaluation. This perspective outlines considerations for addressing these technical hurdles that, once overcome, will facilitate rapid advancement of 3D biomaterial printing as an indispensable tool for both investigating complex tissue and organ morphogenesis and for developing functional devices for a variety of diagnostic and regenerative medicine applications.

Influence of Parathyroid Hormone-Loaded PLGA Nanoparticles in Porous Scaffolds for Bone Regeneration

Biodegradable poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles, containing human parathyroid hormone (PTH (1–34)), prepared by a modified double emulsion-solvent diffusion-evaporation method, were incorporated in porous freeze-dried chitosan-gelatin (CH-G) scaffolds. The PTH-loaded nanoparticles (NPTH) were characterised in terms of morphology, size, protein loading, release kinetics and in vitro assessment of biological activity of released PTH and cytocompatibility studies against clonal human osteoblast (hFOB) cells. Structural integrity of incorporated and released PTH from nanoparticles was found to be intact by using Tris-tricine SDS-PAGE. In vitro PTH release kinetics from PLGA nanoparticles were characterised by a burst release followed by a slow release phase for 3–4 weeks. The released PTH was biologically active as evidenced by the stimulated release of cyclic AMP from hFOB cells as well as increased mineralisation studies. Both in vitro and cell studies demonstrated that the PTH bioactivity was maintained during the fabrication of PLGA nanoparticles and upon release. Finally, a content of 33.3% w/w NPTHs was incorporated in CH-G scaffolds, showing an intermittent release during the first 10 days and, followed by a controlled release over 28 days of observation time. The increased expression of Alkaline Phosphatase levels on hFOB cells further confirmed the activity of intermittently released PTH from scaffolds.

From cardiac tissue engineering to heart-on-a-chip: beating challenges

The heart is one of the most vital organs in the human body, which actively pumps the blood through the vascular network to supply nutrients to as well as to extract wastes from all other organs, maintaining the homeostasis of the biological system. Over the past few decades, tremendous efforts have been exerted in engineering functional cardiac tissues for heart regeneration via biomimetic approaches. More recently, progress has been made toward the transformation of knowledge obtained from cardiac tissue engineering to building physiologically relevant microfluidic human heart models (i.e. heart-on-chips) for applications in drug discovery. The advancement in stem cell technologies further provides the opportunity to create personalized in vitro models from cells derived from patients. Here, starting from heart biology, we review recent advances in engineering cardiac tissues and heart-on-a-chip platforms for their use in heart regeneration and cardiotoxic/cardiotherapeutic drug screening, and then briefly conclude with characterization techniques and personalization potential of the cardiac models.

Current overview on challenges in regenerative endodontics

INTRODUCTION

Regenerative endodontics provides hope of converting the non-vital tooth into vital once again. It focuses on substituting traumatized and pathological pulp with functional pulp tissue. Current regenerative procedures successfully produce root development but still fail to re-establish real pulp tissue and give unpredictable results. There are several drawbacks that need to be addressed to improve the quality and efficiency of the treatment.

AIM

The aim of this review article is to discuss major priorities that ought to be dealt before applications of regenerative endodontics flourish the clinical practice.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A web-based research on MEDLINE was done using filter terms Review, published in the last 10 years and Dental journals. Keywords used for research were "regenerative endodontics," "dental stem cells," "growth factor regeneration," "scaffolds," and "challenges in regeneration." This review article screened about 150 articles and then the relevant information was compiled.

RESULTS

Inspite of the impressive growth in regenerative endodontic field, there are certain loopholes in the existing treatment protocols that might sometimes result in undesired and unpredictable outcomes.

CONCLUSION

Considerable research and development efforts are required to improve and update existing regenerative endodontic strategies to make it an effective, safe, and biological mode to save teeth.

Leaf-inspired artificial microvascular networks (LIAMN) for three-dimensional cell culture

Leaf-inspired artificial microvascular networks (LIAMN) for 3D cell culture in hydrogel constructs.

Supramolecular self-assembly of 14-helical nanorods with tunable linear and dendritic hierarchical morphologies

Varying the solvent offers a simple way to control superstructure polymorphism of a tri-β³-peptide-based supramolecular system.

Preparation of a designed poly(trimethylene carbonate) microvascular network by stereolithography

Designed flexible and elastic network structures are prepared by stereolithography using a photo-crosslinkable resin based on a poly(trimethylene carbonate) (PTMC) macromer with a molecular weight of 3150 g/mol. Physical properties and the compatibility with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) are evaluated. The hydrophobic networks are found to be flexible and elastic, with an E modulus of 7.9 ± 0.1 MPa, a tensile strength of 3.5 ± 0.1 MPa and an elongation at break of 76.7 ± 0.7%. HUVECs attach and proliferate well on the surfaces of the built structures. A three-dimensional microvascular network is designed to serve as a perfusable scaffold for tissue engineering. In the design, 5 generations of open channels each branch into 4 smaller channels yielding a microvascular region with a high density of capillaries. The overall cross-sectional area through which medium or blood can be perfused remains constant. These structures would ensure efficient nourishment of cells in a large volume of tissue. Built by stereolithography using the PTMC resin, the smallest channels of these structures have square cross-sectional areas, with inner widths of approximately 224 μm and wall thicknesses of approximately 152 μm. The channels are open, allowing water to perfuse the scaffold at 0.279 ± 0.006 mL/s at 80 mmHg and 0.335 ± 0.009 mL/s at 120 mmHg.

The promise of microfluidic artificial lungs

Microfluidic or microchannel artificial lungs promise to enable a new class of truly portable, therapeutic artificial lungs through feature sizes and blood channel designs that closely mimic those found in their natural counterpart. These new artificial lungs could potentially: 1) have surface areas and priming volumes that are a fraction of current technologies thereby decreasing device size and reducing the foreign body response; 2) contain blood flow networks in which cells and platelets experience pressures, shear stresses, and branching angles that copy those in the human lung thereby improving biocompatibility; 3) operate efficiently with room air, eliminating the need for gas cylinders and complications associated with hyperoxemia; 4) exhibit biomimetic hydraulic resistances, enabling operation with natural pressures and eliminating the need for blood pumps; and, 5) provide increased gas exchange capacity enabling respiratory support for active patients. This manuscript reviews recent research efforts in microfluidic artificial lungs targeted at achieving the advantages above, investigates the ultimate performance and scaling limits of these devices using a proven mathematical model, and discusses the future challenges that must be overcome in order for microfluidic artificial lungs to be applied in the clinic. If all of these promising advantages are realized and the remaining challenges are met, microfluidic artificial lungs could revolutionize the field of pulmonary rehabilitation.

Regenerative endodontics: a road less travelled

Although traditional approaches like root canal therapy and apexification procedures have been successful in treating diseased or infected root canals, but these modalities fail to re-establish healthy pulp tissue in treated teeth. Regeneration-based approaches aims to offer high levels of success by replacing diseased or necrotic pulp tissues with healthy pulp tissue to revitalize teeth. The applications of regenerative approaches in dental clinics have potential to dramatically improve patients' quality of life. This review article offers a detailed overview of present regenerative endodontic approaches aiming to revitalize teeth and also outlines the problems to be dealt before this emerging field contributes to clinical treatment protocols. It conjointly covers the basic trilogy elements of tissue engineering.

Generation of Multi-Scale Vascular Network System within 3D Hydrogel using 3D Bio-Printing Technology

Although 3D bio-printing technology has great potential in creating complex tissues with multiple cell types and matrices, maintaining the viability of thick tissue construct for tissue growth and maturation after the printing is challenging due to lack of vascular perfusion. Perfused capillary network can be a solution for this issue; however, construction of a complete capillary network at single cell level using the existing technology is nearly impossible due to limitations in time and spatial resolution of the dispensing technology. To address the vascularization issue, we developed a 3D printing method to construct larger (lumen size of ~1mm) fluidic vascular channels and to create adjacent capillary network through a natural maturation process, thus providing a feasible solution to connect the capillary network to the large perfused vascular channels. In our model, microvascular bed was formed in between two large fluidic vessels, and then connected to the vessels by angiogenic sprouting from the large channel edge. Our bio-printing technology has a great potential in engineering vascularized thick tissues and vascular niches, as the vascular channels are simultaneously created while cells and matrices are printed around the channels in desired 3D patterns.

Surface modification of SU-8 for enhanced cell attachment and proliferation within microfluidic chips

Advances in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) have led to an increased fabrication of micro-channels. Microfabrication techniques are utilized to develop microfluidic channels for continuous nutrition supply to cells inside a micro-environment. The ability of cells to build tissues and maintain tissue-specific functions depends on the interaction between cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM). SU-8 is a popular photosensitive epoxy-based polymer in MEMS. The patterning of bare SU-8 alone does not provide the appropriate ECM necessary to develop microsystems for biological applications. Manipulating the chemical composition of SU-8 will enhance the biological compatibility, giving the fabricated constructs the appropriate ECM needed to promote a functional tissue array. This article investigates three frequently used surface treatment techniques: (1) plasma treatment, (2) chemical reaction, and (3) deposition treatment to determine which surface treatment is the most beneficial for enhancing the biological properties of SU-8. The investigations presented in this article demonstrated that the plasma, gelatin, and sulfuric acid treatments have a potential to enhance SU-8's surface for biological application. Of course each treatment has their advantages and disadvantages (application dependent). Cell proliferation was studied with the use of the dye Almar Blue, and a micro-plate reader. After 14 days, cell proliferation to plasma treated surfaces was statistically significantly enhanced (p < 0.00001), compared to untreated surfaces. The plasma treated surface is suggested to be the better of the three treatments for biological enhancement followed by gelatin and sulfuric acid treatments, respectively.

Biodegradable polyphosphazene biomaterials for tissue engineering and delivery of therapeutics

Degradable biomaterials continue to play a major role in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine as well as for delivering therapeutic agents. Although the chemistry of polyphosphazenes has been studied extensively, a systematic review of their applications for a wide range of biomedical applications is lacking. Polyphosphazenes are synthesized through a relatively well-known two-step reaction scheme which involves the substitution of the initial linear precursor with a wide range of nucleophiles. The ease of substitution has led to the development of a broad class of materials that have been studied for numerous biomedical applications including as scaffold materials for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. The objective of this review is to discuss the suitability of poly(amino acid ester)phosphazene biomaterials in regard to their unique stimuli responsive properties, tunable degradation rates and mechanical properties, as well as in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility. The application of these materials in areas such as tissue engineering and drug delivery is discussed systematically. Lastly, the utility of polyphosphazenes is further extended as they are being employed in blend materials for new applications and as another method of tailoring material properties.

Hydroxypropyl cellulose methacrylate as a photo-patternable and biodegradable hybrid paper substrate for cell culture and other bioapplications

In addition to the choice of appropriate material properties of the tissue construct to be used, such as its biocompatibility, biodegradability, cytocompatibility, and mechanical rigidity, the ability to incorporate microarchitectural patterns in the construct to mimic that found in the cellular microenvironment is an important consideration in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Both these issues are addressed by demonstrating a method for preparing biodegradable and photo-patternable constructs, where modified cellulose is cross-linked to form an insoluble structure in an aqueous environment. Specifically, hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) is rendered photocrosslinkable by grafting with methylacrylic anhydride, whose linkages also render the cross-linked construct hydrolytically degradable. The HPC is then cross-linked via a photolithography-based fabrication process. The feasibility of functionalizing these HPC structures with biochemical cues is verified post-fabrication, and shown to facilitate the adhesion of mesenchymal progenitor cells. The HPC constructs are shown to be biocompatible and hydrolytically degradable, thus enabling cell proliferation and cell migration, and therefore constituting an ideal candidate for long-term cell culture and implantable tissue scaffold applications. In addition, the potential of the HPC structure is demonstrated as an alternative substrate to paper microfluidic diagnostic devices for protein and cell assays.

ADVANCED TISSUE ENGINEERING STRATEGIES FOR VASCULARIZED PARENCHYMAL CONSTRUCTS

The fabrication of vascularized parenchymal organs to alleviate donor shortage in organ transplantation is the holy grail of tissue engineering. However, conventional tissue-engineering strategies have encountered huge challenges in recapitulating complex structural organization of native organs (e.g., orderly arrangement of multiple cell types and vascular network), which plays an important role in engineering functional vascularized parenchymal constructs in vitro. Recent developments of various advanced tissue-engineering strategies have exhibited great promise in replicating organ-specific architectures into artificial constructs. Here, we review the recent advances in top-down and bottom-up strategies for the fabrication of vascularized parenchymal constructs. We highlight the fabrication of microfluidic scaffolds potential for nutrient transport or vascularization as well as the controlled multicellular arrangement. The advantages as well as the limitations associated with these strategies will be discussed. It is envisioned that the combination of microfluidic concept in top-down strategies and multicellular arrangement concept in bottom-up strategies could potentially generate new insights for the fabrication of vascularized parenchymal organs.

Vascular Tissue Engineering: Building Perfusable Vasculature for Implantation

Tissue and organ replacement is required when there are no alternative therapies available. Although vascular tissue engineering was originally developed to meet the clinical demands of small-diameter vascular conduits as bypass grafts, it has evolved into a highly advanced field where perfusable vasculatures are generated for implantation. Herein, we review several cutting-edge techniques that have led to implantable human blood vessels in clinical trials, the novel approaches that build complex perfusable microvascular networks in functional tissues, the use of stem cells to generate endothelial cells for vascularization, as well as the challenges in bringing vascular tissue engineering technologies into the clinics.

Micro-Assembly of a Vascular-Like Micro-Channel with Railed Micro-Robot Team-Coordinated Manipulation

The 3D assembly of cellular structures is important for the fabrication of biological substitutes in tissue engineering. In particular, a micro-channel with a 200 μm diameter is of interest because of its promising ability to construct the vascular network for oxygen and nutrition delivery in thick biological substitutes in the future. In this paper, a novel rail-guided micro-robot-team system is proposed for the micro-assembly of a cellular structure. The cellular two-dimensional (2D) component was fabricated by ultraviolet (UV) illumination of a cross-linkable hydrogel. The modular rail-guided micro-robotic system was set up with multi-micromanipulators as the modules and controlled with hybrid motors to achieve an operation resolution of 30 nm. To realize the bottom-up fabrication of the cellular micro-channel, different micro-assembly strategies with multi-manipulators were developed. The micro-assembly success rate and the efficiency of the different strategies were evaluated based on the assembly of micro-donuts. Through the novel, designed, concentric movement of the multi-manipulators along the rail, arbitrary change of the approaching angle and the coordination posture was achieved to improve the micro-assembly's flexibility. The operation range for every micromanipulator in different coordinated manipulation modes was analysed to avoid the breakdown of the assembled 3D structure. The image processing for the target location and end-effector identification was conducted to improve assembly efficiency in the micro-robot-team system. Finally, the assembly of the cellular vascular-like micro-channel was achieved with coordinated manipulation in the rail-guided micro-robot-team system.

Rail-Guided Multi-Robot System for 3D Cellular Hydrogel Assembly with Coordinated Nanomanipulation

The 3D assembly of micro-/nano-building blocks with multi-nanomanipulator coordinated manipulation is one of the central elements of nanomanipulation. A novel rail-guided nanomanipulation system was proposed for the assembly of a cellular vascular-like hydrogel microchannel. The system was equipped with three nanomanipulators and was restricted on the rail in order to realize the arbitrary change of the end-effectors during the assembly. It was set up with hybrid motors to achieve both a large operating space and a 30 nm positional resolution. The 2D components such as the assembly units were fabricated through the encapsulation of cells in the hydrogel. The coordinated manipulation strategies among the multi-nanomanipulators were designed with vision feedback and were demonstrated through the bottom-up assembly of the vascular-like microtube. As a result, the multi-layered microchannel was assembled through the cooperation of the nanomanipulation system.

Design and fabrication of human skin by three-dimensional bioprinting

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting, a flexible automated on-demand platform for the free-form fabrication of complex living architectures, is a novel approach for the design and engineering of human organs and tissues. Here, we demonstrate the potential of 3D bioprinting for tissue engineering using human skin as a prototypical example. Keratinocytes and fibroblasts were used as constituent cells to represent the epidermis and dermis, and collagen was used to represent the dermal matrix of the skin. Preliminary studies were conducted to optimize printing parameters for maximum cell viability as well as for the optimization of cell densities in the epidermis and dermis to mimic physiologically relevant attributes of human skin. Printed 3D constructs were cultured in submerged media conditions followed by exposure of the epidermal layer to the air-liquid interface to promote maturation and stratification. Histology and immunofluorescence characterization demonstrated that 3D printed skin tissue was morphologically and biologically representative of in vivo human skin tissue. In comparison with traditional methods for skin engineering, 3D bioprinting offers several advantages in terms of shape- and form retention, flexibility, reproducibility, and high culture throughput. It has a broad range of applications in transdermal and topical formulation discovery, dermal toxicity studies, and in designing autologous grafts for wound healing. The proof-of-concept studies presented here can be further extended for enhancing the complexity of the skin model via the incorporation of secondary and adnexal structures or the inclusion of diseased cells to serve as a model for studying the pathophysiology of skin diseases.

Human induced pluripotent stem cell-based microphysiological tissue models of myocardium and liver for drug development

Drug discovery and development to date has relied on animal models, which are useful but are often expensive, slow, and fail to mimic human physiology. The discovery of human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells has led to the emergence of a new paradigm of drug screening using human and disease-specific organ-like cultures in a dish. Although classical static culture systems are useful for initial screening and toxicity testing, they lack the organization of differentiated iPS cells into microphysiological, organ-like structures deemed necessary for high-content analysis of candidate drugs. One promising approach to produce these organ-like structures is the use of advanced microfluidic systems, which can simulate tissue structure and function at a micron level, and can provide high-throughput testing of different compounds for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. Here, we provide a brief outline on the different approaches, which have been used to engineer in vitro tissue constructs of iPS cell-based myocardium and liver functions on chip. Combining these techniques with iPS cell biology has the potential of reducing the dependence on animal studies for drug toxicity and efficacy screening.

Physiologically relevant organs on chips

Recent advances in integrating microengineering and tissue engineering have generated promising microengineered physiological models for experimental medicine and pharmaceutical research. Here we review the recent development of microengineered physiological systems, or also known as "ogans-on-chips", that reconstitute the physiologically critical features of specific human tissues and organs and their interactions. This technology uses microengineering approaches to construct organ-specific microenvironments, reconstituting tissue structures, tissue-tissue interactions and interfaces, and dynamic mechanical and biochemical stimuli found in specific organs, to direct cells to assemble into functional tissues. We first discuss microengineering approaches to reproduce the key elements of physiologically important, dynamic mechanical microenvironments, biochemical microenvironments, and microarchitectures of specific tissues and organs in microfluidic cell culture systems. This is followed by examples of microengineered individual organ models that incorporate the key elements of physiological microenvironments into single microfluidic cell culture systems to reproduce organ-level functions. Finally, microengineered multiple organ systems that simulate multiple organ interactions to better represent human physiology, including human responses to drugs, is covered in this review. This emerging organs-on-chips technology has the potential to become an alternative to 2D and 3D cell culture and animal models for experimental medicine, human disease modeling, drug development, and toxicology.

Process of making three-dimensional microstructures using vaporization of a sacrificial component

Vascular structures in natural systems are able to provide high mass transport through high surface areas and optimized structure. Few synthetic material fabrication techniques are able to mimic the complexity of these structures while maintaining scalability. The Vaporization of a Sacrificial Component (VaSC) process is able to do so. This process uses sacrificial fibers as a template to form hollow, cylindrical microchannels embedded within a matrix. Tin (II) oxalate (SnOx) is embedded within poly(lactic) acid (PLA) fibers which facilitates the use of this process. The SnOx catalyzes the depolymerization of the PLA fibers at lower temperatures. The lactic acid monomers are gaseous at these temperatures and can be removed from the embedded matrix at temperatures that do not damage the matrix. Here we show a method for aligning these fibers using micromachined plates and a tensioning device to create complex patterns of three-dimensionally arrayed microchannels. The process allows the exploration of virtually any arrangement of fiber topologies and structures.

Engineered liver for transplantation

Orthotopic liver transplantation is the only definitive treatment for end stage liver failure and the shortage of donor organs severely limits the number of patients receiving transplants. Liver tissue engineering aims to address the donor liver shortage by creating functional tissue constructs to replace a damaged or failing liver. Despite decades of work, various bottoms-up, synthetic biomaterials approaches have failed to produce a functional construct suitable for transplantation. Recently, a new strategy has emerged using whole organ scaffolds as a vehicle for tissue engineering. This technique involves preparation of these organ scaffolds via perfusion decellularization with the resulting scaffold retaining the circulatory network of the native organ. This important phenomenon allows for the construct to be repopulated with cells and to be connected to the blood torrent upon transplantation. This opinion paper presents the current advances and discusses the challenges of creating fully functional transplantable liver grafts with this whole liver engineering approach.

A microfluidic platform for generating large-scale nearly identical human microphysiological vascularized tissue arrays

This paper reports a polydimethylsiloxane microfluidic model system that can develop an array of nearly identical human microtissues with interconnected vascular networks. The microfluidic system design is based on an analogy with an electric circuit, applying resistive circuit concepts to design pressure dividers in serially-connected microtissue chambers. A long microchannel (550, 620 and 775 mm) creates a resistive circuit with a large hydraulic resistance. Two media reservoirs with a large cross-sectional area and of different heights are connected to the entrance and exit of the long microchannel to serve as a pressure source, and create a near constant pressure drop along the long microchannel. Microtissue chambers (0.12 μl) serve as a two-terminal resistive component with an input impedance >50-fold larger than the long microchannel. Connecting each microtissue chamber to two different positions along the long microchannel creates a series of pressure dividers. Each microtissue chamber enables a controlled pressure drop of a segment of the microchannel without altering the hydrodynamic behaviour of the microchannel. The result is a controlled and predictable microphysiological environment within the microchamber. Interstitial flow, a mechanical cue for stimulating vasculogenesis, was verified by finite element simulation and experiments. The simplicity of this design enabled the development of multiple microtissue arrays (5, 12, and 30 microtissues) by co-culturing endothelial cells, stromal cells, and fibrin within the microchambers over two and three week periods. This methodology enables the culturing of a large array of microtissues with interconnected vascular networks for biological studies and applications such as drug development.

Fabrication of nature-inspired microfluidic network for perfusable tissue constructs

A microreplication method is presented to transfer nature optimized vascular network of leaf venation into various synthetic matrixes. The biomaterial hydrogel with these microfluidic networks is proven to facilitate the growth of endothelial cells and simultaneously function as convection pathways to transport nutrients and oxygen in a pump-free bioreactor setup, which is crucial for the long-term viability of encapsulated cells.

Preparation of micron/submicron hybrid patterns via a two-stage UV-imprint technique and their dimensional effects on cell adhesion and alignment

Cell adhesion, movement and proliferation on a biomaterial have been broadly explored and known to be induced by the morphology and structure of material surfaces. In order to explore the effects of hybrid structures (combination of micro- and nanofeatures on a pattern) on cell adhesion and alignment, a micro-featured mold was firstly prepared using partial UV-irradiation and the protruding top of the mold was then imprinted with nano-featured templates via successive UV irradiation. An oxygen inhibition effect was utilized in the course of UV curing and a two-step molding process, to form multiscale hybrid structures. The poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) replica of the hybrid mold was manufactured and employed to fabricate hybrid polymeric patterns for cell attachment. The underlying micro-feature was chosen to be a 25-µm-wide pattern and the nanostructures on the protrusions of the micropattern were different ruled nanogrooves, either parallel or perpendicular to the micro-featured pattern. In cell attachment measurement, 3T3 fibroblasts attached to poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) samples seemed to be preferentially located on the recessed area of the hybrid patterns; however, 3T3 fibroblasts were aligned with nano-features, no matter if the nanogrooves were parallel or perpendicular to the micro-featured patterns. The nanogroove size was found to determine the effectiveness of cell alignment.

Nanotopography-guided tissue engineering and regenerative medicine

Human tissues are intricate ensembles of multiple cell types embedded in complex and well-defined structures of the extracellular matrix (ECM). The organization of ECM is frequently hierarchical from nano to macro, with many proteins forming large scale structures with feature sizes up to several hundred microns. Inspired from these natural designs of ECM, nanotopography-guided approaches have been increasingly investigated for the last several decades. Results demonstrate that the nanotopography itself can activate tissue-specific function in vitro as well as promote tissue regeneration in vivo upon transplantation. In this review, we provide an extensive analysis of recent efforts to mimic functional nanostructures in vitro for improved tissue engineering and regeneration of injured and damaged tissues. We first characterize the role of various nanostructures in human tissues with respect to each tissue-specific function. Then, we describe various fabrication methods in terms of patterning principles and material characteristics. Finally, we summarize the applications of nanotopography to various tissues, which are classified into four types depending on their functions: protective, mechano-sensitive, electro-active, and shear stress-sensitive tissues. Some limitations and future challenges are briefly discussed at the end.

Layer-by-layer micromolding of natural biopolymer scaffolds with intrinsic microfluidic networks

A three-dimensional (3D) microfluidic network plays an important role in engineering thick organs. However, most of the existing methods are limited to mechanically robust synthetic biomaterials and only planar or simple microfluidic networks have been incorporated into soft natural biopolymers. Here we presented an automatic layer-by-layer micromolding strategy to reproducibly fabricate 3D microfluidic porous scaffolds directly from the aqueous solution of soft natural biopolymers. Process parameters such as the liquid volume for each layer and contact displacement were investigated to produce a structurally stable 3D microfluidic scaffold. Microscopic characterization demonstrated that the microfluidic channels were interconnected in 3D and successfully functioned as a convective pathway to transport a polymer solution. Endothelial cells grew relatively well in the porous microfluidic channels. It is envisioned that this method could provide an alternative way to reproducibly build complex 3D microfluidic networks into extracellular matrix-like scaffolds for the fabrication of soft vascularized organs.

In vitro perfused human capillary networks

Replicating in vitro the complex in vivo tissue microenvironment has the potential to transform our approach to medicine and also our understanding of biology. In order to accurately model the 3D arrangement and interaction of cells and extracellular matrix, new microphysiological systems must include a vascular supply. The vasculature not only provides the necessary convective transport of oxygen, nutrients, and waste in 3D culture, but also couples and integrates the responses of organ systems. Here we combine tissue engineering and microfluidic technology to create an in vitro 3D metabolically active stroma (∼1 mm(3)) that, for the first time, contains a perfused, living, dynamic, interconnected human capillary network. The range of flow rate (μm/s) and shear rate (s(-1)) within the network was 0-4000 and 0-1000, respectively, and thus included the normal physiological range. Infusion of FITC dextran demonstrated microvessels (15-50 μm) to be largely impermeable to 70 kDa. Our high-throughput biology-directed platform has the potential to impact a broad range of fields that intersect with the microcirculation, including tumor metastasis, drug discovery, vascular disease, and environmental chemical toxicity.

A modular approach to create a neurovascular unit-on-a-chip

In this work, we describe the fabrication and working of a modular microsystem that recapitulates the functions of the "Neurovascular Unit". The microdevice comprised a vertical stack of a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) neural parenchymal chamber separated by a vascular channel via a microporous polycarbonate (PC) membrane. The neural chamber housed a mixture of neurons (~4%), astrocytes (~95%), and microglia (~1%). The vascular channel was lined with a layer of rat brain microvascular endothelial cell line (RBE4). Cellular components in the neural chamber and vascular channel showed viability (>90%). The neural cells fired inhibitory as well as excitatory potentials following 10 days of culture. The endothelial cells showed diluted-acetylated low density lipoprotein (dil-a-LDL) uptake, expressed von Willebrand factor (vWF) and zonula occludens (ZO-1) tight junctions, and showed decreased Alexafluor™-conjugated dextran leakage across their barriers significantly compared with controls (p < 0.05). When the vascular layer was stimulated with TNF-α for 6 h, about 75% of resident microglia and astrocytes on the neural side were activated significantly (p < 0.05 compared to controls) recapitulating tissue-mimetic responses resembling neuroinflammation. The impact of this microsystem lies in the fact that this biomimetic neurovascular platform might not only be harnessed for obtaining mechanistic insights for neurodegenerative disorders, but could also serve as a potential screening tool for central nervous system (CNS) therapeutics in toxicology and neuroinfectious diseases.