simulating the structure and function of capillaries is very important for understanding the role of capillaries in the human body and treating capillary-related diseases. Due to the similar composition and structure, hollow hydrogel microfibers are recognized as potential biomimetic capillaries. Recently, the South China University of Technology scientific research team reported a novel, simple and reproducible method of manufacturing coaxial microfluidic chips through 3D printing assisted soft lithography technology, and then using the prepared coaxial The microfluidic chip manufactures hollow hydrogel microfibers.
instead of the traditional pressure photoresist-based lithography printing, used to construct a variety of coaxially extruded 3D gelatin hydrogels The sacrificial template of the control chip. Through the combination of multiple types of coaxial microfluidic chips or coaxial microfluidic control and post-processing, a variety of solid and hollow hydrogel microfibers with complex layered structures can be obtained. The hollow hydrogel microfibers formed as biomimetic capillaries were evaluated in detail, including physical chemistry and cytology characteristics. Our research results prove that the hollow hydrogel microfibers exhibit excellent mass transfer capacity, blood compatibility, semi-permeability and mechanical strength, and can further enhance their barrier function in the presence of endothelial cells . Overall, our 3D printing-assisted manufacturing strategy provides a new technology for constructing microfluidic chips with complex 3D microchannels, and the resulting hollow hydrogel microfibers are promising candidates for capillaries.
schematic diagram 1. is used as a 3D printing-assisted microfluidic microfluidic fluid control technology and its application in the production of microfluidic micro-span_strong_span4 ) Manufacturing process of hollow hydrogel microfibers; (b) Evaluation of bionic capillary barrier function
Figure 1. 3D printing-assisted manufacturing of microfluidic chip And characterization: (a) FDM-printed polymer template and demolded PDMS copy; (b) hydrogel template printed by extrusion-based 3D printing and demolded PDMS copy; (c) micro SEM image of channel intersection.
Figure 2. Preparation and characterization of different hollow hydrogel microfibers by various coaxial microfluidic chips: _span4 _strong9 Fluorescence images of the fibers and (b) the size of the hollow hydrogel microfibers at different flow rates.
related thesis entitled Facile Fabrication of Hollow Hydrogel Microfiber via 3D Printing-Assisted Microfluidics and Its Application as a Biomimetic Blood Capillary was published on " ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering ". Corresponding author Yes South China University of Technology Professor Xiaodong Cao span1 _span _strong span1 _span 9
References:
doi.org/10.1021/acspan_materialspan_span doi.org/10.1021/acspan _span4
