One of the biggest challenges of growing replacement tissues for therapeutic uses is getting blood vessels to properly form throughout a construct so that all the cells are perfused and oxygenated. Researchers from Rice University and University of Pennsylvania are overcoming this challenge by building blood vessel constructs that can interface with natural blood vessels and be used as implants to grow new tissues.
The constructs are made of silicone, and sugar is used to first create a lattice that serves as a mold for the final product. Once the silicone is poured over the sugar and allowed to cool and harden, the sugar is dissolved leaving behind tiny vessels. The researchers created one design that has 1 millimeter wide inlets and outlets with 600 to 800 micron branches connecting two larger vessels. They connected the device to an artery in a small animal and showed it passed blood through for at least three hours without any problems.
This is just a proof-of-concept study, but it’s may be an important piece in the puzzle of how to grow real functional tissues and organs.
Study in Tissue Engineering Part C: Methods: In vivo anastomosis and perfusion of a 3D printed construct containing microchannel networks…
Source: Rice University…