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Rapid Tissue Perfusion Using Sacrificial Percolation of Anisotropic Networks.

Alex LammersHeng-Hua HsuSubramanian SundaramKeith A GagnonSudong KimJoshua H LeeYi-Chung TungJeroen EyckmansChristopher S Chen
Published in: Matter (2024)
Tissue engineering has long sought to rapidly generate perfusable vascularized tissues with vessel sizes spanning those seen in humans. Current techniques such as biological 3D printing (top-down) and cellular self-assembly (bottom-up) are resource intensive and have not overcome the inherent tradeoff between vessel resolution and assembly time, limiting their utility and scalability for engineering tissues. We present a flexible and scalable technique termed SPAN - S acrificial P ercolation of A nisotropic N etworks, where a network of perfusable channels is created throughout a tissue in minutes, irrespective of its size. Conduits with length scales spanning arterioles to capillaries are generated using pipettable alginate fibers that interconnect above a percolation density threshold and are then degraded within constructs of arbitrary size and shape. SPAN is readily used within common tissue engineering processes, can be used to generate endothelial cell-lined vasculature in a multi-cell type construct, and paves the way for rapid assembly of perfusable tissues.
Keyphrases
  • tissue engineering
  • gene expression
  • endothelial cells
  • loop mediated isothermal amplification
  • single molecule
  • magnetic resonance imaging
  • contrast enhanced
  • network analysis