Agarose

Vascular tissues fabricated in vitro are useful tools for studying blood vessel-related cellular physiologies and for constructing relatively large 3D tissues. An efficient strategy for fabricating vascular tissue models with multilayered, branched, and thick structures through the in situ hydrogel formation in fluidic channels is proposed. First, an aqueous solution of RGD-alginate containing smooth muscle cells (SMCs) is introduced into channel structures made of agarose hydrogel, forming a cell-embedding Ca-alginate hydrogel layer with a thickness of several hundred micrometers on the channel surface because of the Ca(2+) ions diffused from the agarose hydrogel matrix. Next, endothelial cells (ECs) are introduced and cultured for up to seven days to form hierarchically organized, multilayered vascular tissues. The factors affecting the thickness of the Ca-alginate hydrogel layer, and prepared several types of microchannels with different morphologies are examined. The fabricated ...