Name: gradient strain chip for stimulating cellular behaviors in cell-laden hydrogel
Uploaded: 2017-08-08T12:30:00.000+00:00
Duration: 13 min 28 s
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Gradient Strain Chip for Stimulating Cellular Behaviors in Cell-laden Hydrogel at JoVE.com

Este proyecto fue apoyado por el graduado estudiante de estudio al exterior programa (NSC-101-2917-I-007-010); el programa de Ingeniería Biomédica (NSC-101-2221-E-007-032-MY3); y el programa nacional de nanotecnología (NSC-101-2120-M-007-001-), Consejo Nacional de ciencia de R.O.C., Taiwán. Los autores desean agradecer a Prof. Ali Khademhosseini, Gulden Camci-Unal, Arghya Paul y Ronglih Liao en Harvard Medical School para compartir la tecnología de encapsulación de hidrogel y de la célula.

1. GelMA Synthesis
<ol>
	<li>Weigh 10 g of gelatin powder and add it to a glass flask with 100 mL ofDulbecco&#39;s phosphate-buffered saline (DPBS). Put a magnetic stir bar into the flask and place the flask on a stirring hot plate.</li>
	<li>Cover the flask with aluminum foil to avoid water evaporation. Set the hot plate temperature to 50-60 &#176;C and the stirrer at 100 rpm for 1 h to dissolve the gelatin powder well.</li>
	<li>After the gelatin has dissolved, add 8 mL of methacrylic anhydride very slowly (one drop per second) using a pipette. Let it react at 60 &#176;C for 3 h.</li>
	<li>Add pre-warmed DPBS (40 &#176;C) to the flask to a final volume of 500 mL and allow this mix well for 15 min to stop the reaction.</li>
	<li>Meanwhile, cut a dialysis membrane (14 kDa cut-off molecular weight) into several 25 cm-long tubes. Immerse them in deionized (DI) water for 15 min and make a knot to close one end of the dialysis tubes.</li>
	<li>Load the appropriate amount (30 - 60 mL) of the polymer solution into the dialysis tubes and close the other end. Place them in a 5-L plastic beaker with DI water for a week. Renew the DI water twice a day and maintain the solution at 40 - 50 &#176;C during the dialysis process.</li>
	<li>Collect the solution from the tube in a 500-mL glass bottle. Pour ~450 - 500 mL of solution in a 500-mL filter cup (pore size of 0.22 &#181;m) and apply a vacuum to the filter cup to force the solution to pass through the filter membrane for sterilization.</li>
	<li>Transfer the sterilized polymer into several 50-mL sterilized tubes and store them in a -80 &#176;C freezer for 3 - 5 days.</li>
	<li>Freeze-dry the -80 &#176;C polymer for 1 week using a freeze dryer to form GelMA. Store the GelMA in a -80 &#176;C freezer.</li>
</ol>
2. 3-(Trimethoxysilyl)propyl Methacrylate (TMSPMA) Modification
<ol>
	<li>&#160;Cut commercial glass slides into two small pieces (25 mm x 37.5 mm) and immerse them in 0.5 M NaOH solution for 4 h. Wash the slides with a large amount of DI water.</li>
	<li>Place the slide on a rack inside a glass container with 95% ethanol and clean using an ultrasonicator at 43 kHz for 15 min. Air dry the glass slide.</li>
	<li>Immerse the glass slides in 5% TMSPMA in 99.5% ethanol for 1 h.</li>
	<li>Wash the slides in 95% ethanol, air dry the slides, and anneal the TMSPMA coating in an oven at 80 &#176;C for 2 h.</li>
</ol>
3. Chip Fabrication
<ol>
	<li>Take one 2 mm- and one 0.3 mm-thick polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) plate, apply double-sided tape to one side of the PMMA surface, and release the liner on one side. Leave two 2 mm-thick PMMA plates and one 1 mm-thick plate without double-sided tape.</li>
	<li>Laser-cut a 2 mm-thick PMMA plate without double-sided tape to 42 mm x 30 mm to make the bottom plate. Cut a 2 mm-thick PMMA plate with double-sided tape to make the boundary frame, with outer dimensions of 42 mm x 30 mm and inner dimensions of 37.5 mm x 25 mm.</li>
	<li>Laser-cut the 0.3 mm-thick PMMA plate with double-sided tape into a 12-mm center circle with two 2 mm-wide and 8 mm-long flow channels on opposite sides of the circle (Figure 1a).</li>
	<li>To prepare the PMMA mold for casting the PDMS cover, assemble the three pieces of PMMA components from steps 3.2-3.3 (Figure 1b) using double-sided tape.</li>
	<li>Laser-cut a 2 mm-thick PMMA plate with double-sided tape into a 5 cm x 5 cm piece with a 3 x 3 array of 8.5 mm x 8.5 mm hollow rectangles. Cut another 5 cm x 5 cm piece with a 3 x 3 array of 4-mm hollow circles. Laser-cut a 1 mm-thick PMMA plate without double-sided tape into a 5 cm x 5 cm PMMA bottom plate.</li>
	<li>Prepare the PMMA mold for casting the PDMS plug by assembling the three pieces of PMMA components from step 3.5 (Figure 1c) using double-sided tape.</li>
	<li>Prepare the PDMS cover and PDMS plug by properly mixing 30 g of PDMS elastomer and 3 g of PDMS curing agent; degas the mixture under a vacuum chamber for 1 h.</li>
	<li>Cast 1.8-2.0 g of the mixture into the PMMA mold for the PDMS cover and use the appropriate amount to fill each cavity of the PMMA mold for the PDMS plug. Cast 10 g of uncured PDMS mixture in a blank 10-cm plastic plate. Put these molds in a vacuum chamber to degas for 30 min.</li>
	<li>Cure the PDMS for 2 h at 80 &#176;C. After cooling down the cured PDMS on the mold, detach the PDMS covers and the PDMS plugs from the PMMA molds.</li>
	<li>Punch two holes with diameters of about 3 mm at the ends of flow channels of the PDMS covers.</li>
	<li>Cut the PDMS sheet molded from the 10-cm plastic plate into many 1 cm x 1 cm cubes and punch a 3-mm hole in each PDMS cube. Glue two uncured 1 cm x 1 cm PDMS cubes onto the openings of the PDMS cover (to serve as medium reservoirs and to aid in the curing process of the gradient circular hydrogel patterns) and cure for 1 h at 80 &#176;C.</li>
	<li>Bond the PDMS covers with the two PDMS reservoirs onto a TMSPMA-coated slide by pre-treating the bonding side of the PDMS cover and the TMSPMA-coated slide under an oxygen plasma machine (30 W RF power (high mode) and 600 mTorr compressed air) or a high-frequency electronic corona generator (115 V, 50/60 Hz, 0.35 A) for 90 s of O2 plasma treatment.</li>
	<li>Contact the plasma-treated surface of the PDMS covers and the TMSPMA slide and press them closely for permanent bonding through the formation of an Si-O-Si bond. 
	NOTE: Placing the chip in an oven at 80 &#176;C for 1 h can further enhance the bonding strength.</li>
	<li>After cooling, immerse the chips in 95% ethanol for 15 min and air dry. Then, sterilize the chips under UV irradiation for 1 h and store them in a box wrapped in aluminum foil in the laminar hood.</li>
</ol>
4. Static Gradient Strain on the Cell-laden Hydrogel
<ol>
	<li>Print and cut a piece of photomask, 25 mm x 37.5 mm in size, by printing the layout in Figure 2b on a transparent film. Adjust the printed size of Figure 2b to match the dimension in Figure 2a.</li>
	<li>Prepare 100 mL of DMEM medium with 10% FBS, 1% Pen-Strep, and 250 mL of DPBS in a 37 &#176;C water bath to use as the cell culture medium.</li>
	<li>Weigh 25 mg of freeze-dried GelMA into 0.3 mL of prewarmed (37 &#176;C) cell culture medium in a 1.5-mL black microcentrifuge tube. Put the microcentrifuge tube on a laboratory stirrer/hot plate until the GelMA dissolves in the medium.</li>
	<li>Weigh 50 mg of photoinitiator into 1 ml of DPBS in a microcentrifuge tube and place it in an 80 &#176;C oven for 15 min or until the photoinitiator has dissolved.</li>
	<li>Take 25 &#181;L of the 10% photoinitiator from step 4.4 and add it to the microcentrifuge tube from step 4.3. Pipette several times to mix well.</li>
	<li>Count 3 x 106 NIH 3T3 cells using an automated cell counter. Centrifuge the suspension at 200 x g for 5 min, discard the supernatant, and re-suspend the cells in 175 &#181;L of cell culture medium.</li>
	<li>Add the cell solution from step 4.6 to the microcentrifuge tube from step 4.5 to get a prepolymer cell solution of 5% GelMA, 0.5% photoinitiator, and ~6 x 106 3T3 cells/mL. After mixing, load 100 &#181;L of cell prepolymer in a 100-&#181;L micro syringe.</li>
	<li>Manually align (see Figure 3a) a piece of the photomask onto the bottom slide of the sterilized gradient strain chip and simply fix the position using a small drop of DI water in between. Connect the 100-&#181;L micro-syringe loaded with prepolymer cell solution to the inlet of the chip.</li>
	<li>Place (see Figure 3b) 50 &#181;L of prepolymer cell solution in the flow channel using the micro-syringe and then plug the outlet using a PDMS plug. Inject an extra 40 &#181;L of solution to create a convex bulge in the circular PDMS membrane.</li>
	<li>Move the chip with the photomask (bottom), micro-syringe (inlet), and PDMS plug (outlet) from step 4.9 under a UV lamp (365 nm, 9 mW/cm2) and expose it for 30 - 45 s to crosslink the concentric circular hydrogel in the fluidic chamber.</li>
	<li>Remove the PDMS plug and the micro-syringe to release the liquid pressure (see Figure 3c). Use a 1-mL syringe loaded with prewarmed DPBS to wash out uncrosslinked resins 3 times by flushing from the inlet to the outlet.</li>
	<li>Fill the flow channel with about 100 &#181;L of cell culture medium.</li>
	<li>Place the chip in a sterilized culture dish and culture in a 5% CO2 atmosphere at 37 &#176;C for a week. Refresh the medium every day.</li>
	<li>Take images of three chips on day 0 after 4 h of incubation, as a control group, and three chips on day 3, as the experimental set, using a microscope with a 20X objective. Measure the line width of each hydrogel from line 1 to line 12 using software (e.g., ImageJ) to calculate the compress strains ( Figure 4). 
	NOTE: The elongation percentage is calculated by dividing the value of the line width difference between 40 &#181;L and 0 &#181;L by the line width at 40 &#181;L.</li>
</ol>
5. Cell Staining for Alignment Analysis
<ol>
	<li>Use a syringe to inject 4% paraformaldehyde (PFA) in DPBS at RT into the flow chip for 15 min for the fixation of the cell-laden hydrogel. 
	NOTE: Caution. PFA is toxic and should be handled with care.</li>
	<li>Replace the solution with 0.5% cell membrane permeating solution in DPBS for 10 min to permeabilize the cell membrane at RT.</li>
	<li>PBS wash the samples 3 times with 5- to 10-min interval between washes (using a loaded syringe, as in step 5.1).</li>
	<li>Load 1% BSA solution into the fluidic channel for 45-60 min at RT (using a loaded syringe through the inlet port).</li>
	<li>Add 1.5 mL of methanol into the vial with Alexa Fluor 488 phalloidin to yield a final concentration of 6.6 &#181;M stock solution.</li>
	<li>Take 5 &#181;L of Alexa Fluor 488 phalloidin from step 5.5 and dilute it in 200 &#181;L of DPBS with 0.1% BSA to form a final concentration of 0.165 &#181;M Alexa Fluor 488 phalloidin.</li>
	<li>Add 200 &#181;L of the mixture solution to the fluidic channel using a micropipette and incubate the chip at 37 &#176;C for 45 - 60 min for actin staining. PBS wash (as above) the samples 3 times.</li>
	<li>Prepare 1 &#181;g/mL DAPI in PBS, flow it through the chip, and stain cell nuclei at 37 &#176;C for 5 min.</li>
	<li>Pipette DPBS into the fluidic channel to wash out the staining solution and refill the fluidic chamber with PBS solution to take images with a fluorescence microscope.</li>
	<li>Capture the fluorescent images of the 3T3 cells in the hydrogels using an inverted fluorescence microscope under 40X magnification with a CCD detector and filter sets of ex/em at 488/520 nm and 358/461 nm for Alexa Fluor 488 phalloidin (actin) and DAPI (nucleus), respectively.</li>
</ol>

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Los autores no tienen nada que revelar.

En este papel, Divulgamos sobre un enfoque simple para comparar comportamiento de alineación de celda después de hidrogel forma orientación y tramo extensible. Una membrana PDMS flexible crea una curvatura en forma de cúpula para generar diferentes alturas de hidrogeles circulares concéntricos. Después de soltar la presión, la membrana PDMS automáticamente aplica fuerza a los hidrogeles micro-patrón para formar el gradiente tensión/alargamiento, con un máximo en el centro y un mínimo en el límite exterior. Como la formación de la cepa gradiente está diseñada por la flexible membrana PDMS y la manipulación de la viruta fluídica, hay varios parámetros importantes que deben ser atendidos: membrana (i) un control preciso del grosor de los PDMS es crucial para ajustar el valor del gradiente de tensión. Si la membrana es demasiado gruesa, incluso el volumen de inyección máxima de prepolímero de celular no será capaz de generar una adecuada curva convexa en la membrana PDMS para la reticulación de altura gradiente de hidrogeles cargados de celular. Por el contrario, una muy delgada membrana PDMS puede aplicar suficiente fuerza a los hidrogeles. Compruebe que el peso de PDMS no curada en el molde de la cubierta PDMS es alrededor de 1.6-2.0 g por chip. (ii) prevención de la contaminación es muy importante durante el manejo de la reticulación del hidrogel celulares cargados en el chip fluídico. Antes de la célula de cultivo en la incubadora, bien lavado con PBS esterilizada en el canal fluídico y utilizando el 75% etanol para limpiar la superficie de la viruta puede ayudar a evitar el problema de la contaminación. (iii) la concentración de fotoiniciador y la dosis de exposición Ultravioleta deben ser cuidadosamente controlada y en la gama de ~0.1% - 2% (0.5% se recomienda). Reticulación en el hidrogel y la sobredosificación de la irradiación UV resultará en viabilidad celular baja. (iv) el ancho de línea del hidrogel con motivos no debe ser demasiado grande. De lo contrario, la tasa de reemplazo de nutrientes en los hidrogeles gruesas no será capaz de apoyar la proliferación celular. Por lo general, se recomienda menos de 300 μm. Se puede variar el espacio entre dos círculos de hidrogel, y se recomienda un ciclo de deber del 50%. (v) mientras que lavar o volver a llenar el canal de flujo con la solución, debe evitarse la formación de burbujas. Pipeteando suavemente la solución en el chip puede ayudar a quitar las burbujas.
El concepto de cepa gradiente generado por la curvatura deformación de PDMS puede actualizarse más a la aplicación de cepas gradiente dinámicas y puede ser integrado con el estímulo bioquímico, que puede beneficiar a muchos estudios sobre la regeneración de tejido funcional. El módulo de inyección fluídica simple con un enchufe de PDMS puede reemplazarse por cualquier sistema neumático avanzado para extendido control experimental. El molde PMMA también puede ser sustituido por un molde recientemente SU-8 o un molde del silicio a granel-grabado al agua fuerte.
Este chip de gradiente de tensión con un hidrogel circular cargados de celular puede generar estática fuerza de compresión sobre el hidrogel 3D sin máquinas mecánicas o eléctricas externas. Por lo tanto, proporciona una plataforma de cribado rápido para investigar comportamientos de la célula en una serie de condiciones de tensión, sin el riesgo de problemas de contaminación causados por la operación de máquinas externas. Sin embargo, estimulación de tensión controlada por el tiempo no es factible porque la membrana PDMS genera cepas hasta la degradación de la hidrogel.

Servir como un material del bloque que imita un microambiente nativo, un hidrogel que contiene la matriz extracelular (ECM) puede reconstruir biomiméticos tejido andamios para apoyar el crecimiento de la célula. Poseer las funciones de un tejido, alineación de celda organizado es un requisito esencial. Varios 2D (es decir, las células cultivadas en una superficie) y 3D (es decir, las células encapsuladas en un hidrogel) alineaciones de celda se han obtenido por cultivo o encapsular las células o en substratos flexibles con micro- o nano-patrones1. Alineación 3D celular en microarquitectura es más atractiva, como el microambiente está más cercano del tejido propio constructo2,3,4. Un enfoque común para la alineación celular 3D es la localización geométrica de hidrogel forma2,3. Debido al espacio restringido para la proliferación celular en la dirección de eje corto, células objetivo alinear a lo largo de la dirección de eje largo en un hidrogel de micro-patrón. Otro enfoque es aplicar stretch extensible a los hidrogeles para lograr alineación de celdas paralela a la dirección de estiramiento4,5.
Estimulación biofísica en hidrogeles de ECM, como la tensión compresiva o un campo eléctrico, puede regular funciones celulares para la integración adecuada del tejido, proliferación y diferenciación1,2,3. Mucha investigación se ha realizado para investigar el comportamiento celular mediante la aplicación de una condición de tensión a la vez utilizando múltiples control mecánico unidades4,6,7,8,9. Por ejemplo, el uso de motores paso a paso mecánica apretado o estirado en un hidrogel de colágeno de células encapsuladas 3D ha sido un común enfoque7,10. Sin embargo, dicho equipo de control requiere un espacio extra y enfrenta el problema de la contaminación en la incubadora9,7,11,12. Además, el instrumento grande no puede dar un ambiente de control preciso para proporcionar alta reproducibilidad13.
Teniendo en cuenta que hidrogeles cargados de celular se emplean generalmente en la escala micro para aplicaciones biomédicas, es ventajoso combinar técnicas de MEMS para generar un rango de tensión/estiramiento del estímulo a investigar simultáneamente el comportamiento celular en 3D biomiméticos construcciones en vitro2,14,15,16,17,18. Por ejemplo, usando la presión del gas a deformar la membrana PDMS en chips de microfluídica puede dar lugar a varias cepas, conduce la diferenciación celular a diferentes linajes9,16. Sin embargo, hay muchos desafíos técnicos, tales como procesos de fabricación de chips complicados en un cuarto limpio y la integración de software control de motores, bombas, válvulas y gases comprimidos.
En este trabajo, demostramos un enfoque simple para obtener un chip de microfluidos gradiente de tensión estática autosostenible mediante el empleo de un patrón de hidrogel circulares concéntricos y una membrana flexible de PDMS. A diferencia de la mayoría de los enfoques existentes, nuestra plataforma es un dispositivo miniatura portátil y desechable que puede ser fabricado fuera de un salón amarillo y que posee uno mismo-generar tensiones degradadas concéntricos hidrogeles encapsulado en celular, sin equipos mecánicos externos durante la incubación. Comportamientos de células de fibroblastos 3T3 influenciado por una combinación de forma de hidrogel y una variedad de señales de orientación elástico resistencia a la tracción fueron demostrados durante la observación de la alineación celular dentro de entornos 3D ECM-mimético en el chip de gradiente de presión durante 3 días.

<table><tbody><tr><td>1.5 mL black microcentrifuge tube</td><td>Argos Technologies&amp;nbsp;</td><td>03-391-161</td><td>This one can be replaced with a neutral color of 1.5 mL tube covered with aluminun foil</td></tr><tr><td>10x DPBS</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>56064C</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Alexa Fluor 488 phalloidin&amp;nbsp;</td><td>Invitrogen</td><td>A12379&amp;nbsp;</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>BSA</td><td>Sigma</td><td>A1595</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Calcein</td><td>Molecular Probe</td><td>C1430</td><td>For labeling viable cells</td></tr><tr><td>CCD</td><td>PCO. Imaging</td><td>Pixelfly qe</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Cell membrane permeating solution</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>X100</td><td>0.5% Triton X-100 for permeating cell membrane</td></tr><tr><td>DAPI</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>D8417</td><td>Cell nucleus staining</td></tr><tr><td>Dialysis membrane</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>D9527</td><td>Molecular weight cut-off = 14,000</td></tr><tr><td>DMEM</td><td>Gibco</td><td>11995-065</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Double-side tape</td><td>3M</td><td>8003</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>FBS</td><td>Hyclone</td><td>SH30071.03</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Gelatin</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>G2500</td><td>gel strength 300, type A, from porcine skin</td></tr><tr><td>High frequency electronic corona generator</td><td>Electro-technic products</td><td>MODEL BD-20</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Methacrylic Anhydride</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>276685</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Micro syringe</td><td>Hamilton</td><td>80501</td><td>50 &amp;mu;L&amp;nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>Microscope</td><td>Olympus</td><td>IX71</td><td>Include two filter sets: LF405/LP-B-000 and LF488/LP-C-000 from Semrock</td></tr><tr><td>Oxygen plasma machine</td><td>Harrick plasma</td><td>PDC-001</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Paraformaldehyde</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>P6148</td><td>For fixing cell</td></tr><tr><td>PDMS</td><td>DOW CORNING</td><td>Sylgard 184</td><td>Mixture for PDMS chip cast-molding fabrication</td></tr><tr><td>Pen-Strep</td><td>Gibco</td><td>10378-016</td><td>penicillin/streptomycin</td></tr><tr><td>Photoinitiator</td><td>CIBA</td><td>Irgacure 2959</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Propidium iodide</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>P4170</td><td>For labeling dead cells</td></tr><tr><td>Sterile Filtration cup</td><td>Millipore</td><td>SCGPT05RE</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>TMSPMA</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>440159</td><td>For hydrogel immobilization</td></tr><tr><td>Ultrasonicator</td><td>Delta</td><td>D150H</td><td>150W, 43kHz</td></tr><tr><td>UV light</td><td>DAIHAN</td><td>WUV-L10</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Freeze Dryer</td><td>FIRSTEK</td><td>150311025</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>NIH3T3(fibroblast)</td><td>Food Industry Research and Development Institute(FIRDI)</td><td>08C0011</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>MOXI Z Mini Automated Cell Counter</td><td>ORFLO</td><td>MXZ001</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

gradient strain chip for stimulating cellular behaviors in cell-laden hydrogel

Orientación artificial para alineación celular es un tema candente en el campo de la ingeniería de tejidos. La mayoría de la investigación anterior ha investigado solo alineación celular inducida por la cepa en un hidrogel cargadas de célula mediante complejos procesos experimentales y sistemas de control de masas, que se asocian generalmente a problemas de contaminación. Así, en este artículo, proponemos un enfoque simple para construir una gradiente tensión estática usando un chip neumático con una cubierta plástica de PDMS y un sustrato de vidrio transparente UV para la estimulación del comportamiento celular en un hidrogel 3D. Prepolímero de células foto-patternable sobrecarga en la cámara de neumático puede generar una membrana PDMS curva convexa en la cubierta. Después de la reticulación UV, a través de un micropattern circular concéntrica bajo la membrana PDMS curvada y tampón de lavado, un microambiente para la investigación de la célula comportamientos bajo una variedad de cepas degradadas es uno establecido en un único chip fluídico, sin instrumentos externos. Células NIH3T3 fueron demostradas después de observar el cambio en la tendencia de alineación celular bajo dirección de geometría, en cooperación con el estímulo de la cepa, que varió de 15-65% de los hidrogeles. Después de una incubación de 3 días, la geometría de hidrogel había dominado la alineación celular bajo tensión compresiva baja, donde las células alineación a lo largo de la dirección de alargamiento de hidrogel bajo alta tensión a la compresión. Entre éstos, las células demostraron alineación al azar debido a la disipación de la radical orientación de elongación de hidrogel y la orientación de la geometría del hidrogel con dibujos.

Para comparar las variaciones mecánicas entre cada hidrogel circular en el chip de estimulación completa tensión degradado, medimos el ancho de línea de cada hidrogel circular en dos de las virutas del mismo, con los volúmenes de inyección de 0 μL (figura 4a) y 40 μl (Figura 4b), respectivamente. El alargamiento porcentual en cada círculo se calcularon dividiendo el alargamiento en el chip 40 μl inyectado por las anchuras de línea de los hidrogeles correspondientes en el chip 0 μl inyectado (figura 4C). El hidrogel es un material incompresible, por lo que la tensión vertical de contratación será equivalente a la tensión de elongación lateral. Por lo tanto, el alargamiento porcentual en el chip con el volumen de inyección 40 μl muestra elongación de 15-65%, que puede convertirse en la cepa a la compresión (véase la archivo adicional 1).
Tinción fluorescente de los núcleos celulares y F-actina con DAPI y phalloidin, respectivamente, se realizó para analizar la alineación celular. La tinción DAPI proporcionaron datos sobre orientación nuclear, y la tinción phalloidin fue aplicada para evaluar la difusión de la célula. Figura 5a -c muestra el alineamiento de celda en el chip de gradiente de tensión. En la línea 1, las células 3T3 alinean a lo largo de la dirección radial. En hidrogel 7, las células alineación al azar, y las células alineación a lo largo de la dirección circular en la línea 12. Según el fluorescente coloración de imágenes, se descubrió un cambio de 90 ° desde el ángulo de alineación de la célula de las células 3T3 en la línea 1 (hidrogel máxima elongación en la dirección radial) en el ángulo de alineación de las celdas con la alineación de eje largo de la línea 12 (menor alargamiento de hidrogel en la dirección radial).
En la anterior investigación2,9, células en hidrogeles con dibujos de línea 200 μm pretenden alinear a lo largo de la dirección de eje largo de la hidrogel. Sin embargo, en este estudio, se observó que el tramo alargado en los hidrogeles de 200 μm en la dirección del eje corto proporcionado otro factor para afectar y dominan la alineación celular controlando el porcentaje de la tensión sobre el hidrogel. Para la cepa de 65% de la línea 1, la alineación radical demostró que el tramo de alargamiento del hidrogel domina la alineación de la celda. Para la cepa de 15% en la línea 12, la alineación circular demostró que el efecto de eje largo había dominado la alineación de la celda. Para la cepa de 40% en hidrogel 7, las células alinean al azar debido a la neutralización de los efectos de dirección y tensión de geometría.
<img alt="Figure 1" class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/53715/53715fig1.jpg"> 
Figura 1 . Molde madre de PMMA para PDMS y enchufe fabricación. (a) los componentes separados del molde PMMA, incluyendo una placa inferior, marco límite y un canal de flujo. Después del montaje con cinta de doble cara, (b) el molde de la madre PMMA para la hoja de flujo está formado. (c) molde otro PMMA está montado para el PDMS del enchufe. El número rojo representa la profundidad. (unidad: mm) <a href="//ecsource-jove-com.bdigitaluss.remotexs.co/files/ftp_upload/53715/53715fig1large.jpg" target="_blank">Haga clic aquí para ver una versión más grande de esta figura.</a>
<img alt="Figure 2" class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/53715/53715fig2.jpg"> 
Figura 2 . Diseño plástico de la fotomáscara para el celular cargado hidrogel Micropattern. Hay dos aberturas con forma de triángulo (2 mm en la línea de fondo y 6,5 mm de altura) conecta a los canales de flujo para suministro de medio de cultivo celular fresco. (a) el plástico photomask está etiquetado con la dimensión. El período de los círculos concéntricos es de 400 nm y el ciclo de trabajo es 50%. El diámetro del centro del círculo es 2 mm. (b) la distribución del photomask, sin etiquetas para impresión láser sobre una capa de plástico transparente. <a href="//ecsource-jove-com.bdigitaluss.remotexs.co/files/ftp_upload/53715/53715fig2large.jpg" target="_blank">Haga clic aquí para ver una versión más grande de esta figura.</a>
<img alt="Figure 3" class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/53715/53715fig3.jpg"> 
Figura 3. Procesos de fabricación de la gradiente de tensión hidrogel cargadas de celulares a lo largo de la dirección Radial en un Chip fluídico PDMS. (a) un photomask plástico es alineado y pegado bajo el chip con un canal neumático cubierto de TMSPMA. Una micro jeringa con solución de prepolímero de la célula es insertada en la entrada del chip y se utiliza para inyectar aproximadamente 50 μL para llenar el canal de flujo. (b) la salida del canal de flujo se cierra con el PDMS enchufe y se inyecta un adicional 40 μl de solución de prepolímero de la célula. El fondo de cristal es UV-patrón de 30 s para fabricar el hidrogel circular concéntrico en el chip de flujo. (c) se libera la presión del líquido en el canal de flujo desconectando la corriente y la mezcla de las Naciones Unidas-reticulación es lavar con DPBS. (d) un chip con cepa gradiente estático aplica concéntricos hidrogeles cargados de células que están listos para el cultivo de células. Durante el proceso de reticulación UV, se forma (e) una altura gradiente discontinua de hidrogel a lo largo del radio. (f) después de desconectar la toma de corriente, la membrana PDMS se convierte en plana y se aplica tensión de gradiente en los hidrogeles encapsulado en celular. <a href="//ecsource-jove-com.bdigitaluss.remotexs.co/files/ftp_upload/53715/53715fig3large.jpg" target="_blank">Haga clic aquí para ver una versión más grande de esta figura.</a>
<img alt="Figure 4" class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/53715/53715fig4.jpg"> 
Figura 4. El gradiente de alargamiento de hidrogel puro. El ancho de la línea de alargamiento y porcentaje de hidrogel puro sin encapsulación de la célula en el gradiente de tensión chip el día 3 con el (a) 0 μL (grupo control) y volúmenes de inyección 40 μl (b) . (c) el porcentaje de elongación se calcula dividiendo el valor de la diferencia de anchura de línea entre 40 μl y 0 μL por el ancho de línea de 40 μl. <a href="//ecsource-jove-com.bdigitaluss.remotexs.co/files/ftp_upload/53715/53715fig4large.jpg" target="_blank">haga clic aquí para ver una versión más grande de esta figura.</a>
<img alt="Figure 5" class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/53715/53715fig5.jpg"> 
Figura 5 . Imágenes de actina-núcleo mancha fluorescentes del encapsulado de células 3T3 en las fichas degradado el día 3. La dirección de alineación celular en (- c) línea 1, línea 7 del (d-f) y (g-i) 12 revelan radiales, alineación al azar y alineación circular, respectivamente. Los colores verdes y azules muestran las manchas de la actinia y el núcleo, respectivamente. La línea blanca punteada representa el límite del hidrogel. Barra de escala: 200 μm. <a href="//ecsource-jove-com.bdigitaluss.remotexs.co/files/ftp_upload/53715/53715fig5large.jpg" target="_blank">haga clic aquí para ver una versión más grande de esta figura.</a>
Figura 1 complementaria. Cálculo de la curvatura en forma de cúpula PDMS. H (x): la curva convexa de PDMS; H0: la diferencia de altura máxima entre la cúpula PDMS antes y después de la deformación; r: el radio de la cúpula; V: el volumen de inyección excesiva de la región de azul, que causa la deformación de PDMS como una cúpula. Para detalles véase la archivo adicional 1 . <a href="//ecsource-jove-com.bdigitaluss.remotexs.co/files/ftp_upload/53715/Supplementary_Figure_1.tif" target="_blank">Haga clic aquí para descargar esta figura.</a>
Archivo complementario 1. <a href="//ecsource-jove-com.bdigitaluss.remotexs.co/files/ftp_upload/53715/Supplementary_File_1-SI.docx" target="_blank">Haga clic aquí para descargar este archivo.</a>

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Gradient Strain Chip for Stimulating Cellular Behaviors in Cell-laden Hydrogel at JoVE.com

Gradient Strain Chip for Stimulating Cellular Behaviors in Cell-laden Hydrogel

Este artículo presenta un enfoque simple para proporcionar cepas estática gradiente discontinua en un hidrogel celular cargado concéntrico regular alineación de celda para ingeniería de tejidos.

Gradiente de tensión Chip para estimulantes comportamientos celulares en hidrogel cargadas de celulares

Artificial guidance for cellular alignment is a hot topic in the field of tissue engineering. Most of the previous research has investigated single ...

gradient-strain-chip-for-stimulating-cellular-behaviors-cell-laden

Universidad San Sebastian

Research

JoVE Journal

Bioengineering

7.9K vistas.  National Tsing Hua University. Este artículo presenta un enfoque simple para proporcionar cepas estática gradiente discontinua en un hidrogel celular cargado concéntrico regular alineación de celda para ingeniería de tejidos.

Video: Gradient Strain Chip for Stimulating Cellular Behaviors in Cell-laden Hydrogel

Microfabricated Platforms for Mechanically Dynamic Cell Culture

The ability to systematically probe in vitro cellular response to combinations of mechanobiological stimuli for tissue engineering, drug discovery or fundamental cell biology studies is limited by current bioreactor technologies, which cannot simultaneously apply a variety of mechanical stimuli to cultured cells. In order to address this issue, we have developed a series of microfabricated platforms designed to screen for the effects of mechanical stimuli in a high-throughput format. In this protocol, we demonstrate the fabrication of a microactuator array of vertically displaced posts on which the technology is based, and further demonstrate how this base technology can be modified to conduct high-throughput mechanically dynamic cell culture in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional culture paradigms.

In this protocol, we demonstrate the fabrication of a microactuator array of vertically displaced posts on which the technology is based, and how this base technology can be modified to conduct high-throughput mechanically dynamic cell culture in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional culture paradigms.

Plataformas microfabricated para el cultivo celular mecánico dinámico

The ability to systematically probe in vitro cellular response to combinations of mechanobiological stimuli for tissue engineering, drug discovery or ...

Investigación

Bioingeniería

A Gradient-generating Microfluidic Device for Cell Biology

 The fabrication and operation of a gradient-generating microfluidic device for studying cellular behavior is described.  A microfluidic platform is an enabling experimental tool, because it can precisely manipulate fluid flows, enable high-throughput experiments, and generate stable soluble concentration gradients.  Compared to conventional gradient generators, poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-based  microfluidic devices can generate stable concentration gradients of growth factors with well-defined profiles.  Here, we developed simple gradient-generating microfluidic devices with three separate inlets.  Three microchannels combined into one microchannel to generate concentration gradients.  The stability and shape of growth factor gradients were confirmed by fluorescein isothyiocyanate (FITC)-dextran with a molecular weight similar to epidermal growth factor (EGF).  Using this microfluidic device, we demonstrated that fibroblasts exposed to concentration gradients of EGF migrated toward higher concentrations.  The directional orientation of cell migration and motility of migrating cells were quantitatively assessed by cell tracking analysis.  Thus, this gradient-generating microfluidic device might be useful for studying and analyzing the behavior of migrating cells.

We describe a protocol for the microfabrication of the gradient-generating microfluidic device that can generate spatial and temporal gradients in well-defined microenvironment. In this approach, the gradient-generating microfluidic device can be used to study directed cell migration, embryogenesis, wound healing, and cancer metastasis.

Un dispositivo de microfluidos gradiente de generación de Biología Celular

 The fabrication and operation of a gradient-generating microfluidic device for studying cellular behavior is described.  A microfluidic platform is an ...

Biología

Designing Microfluidic Devices for Studying Cellular Responses Under Single or Coexisting Chemical/Electrical/Shear Stress Stimuli

Microfluidic devices are capable of creating a precise and controllable cellular micro-environment of pH, temperature, salt concentration, and other physical or chemical stimuli. They have been commonly used for in vitro cell studies by providing in vivo like surroundings. Especially, how cells response to chemical gradients, electrical fields, and shear stresses has drawn many interests since these phenomena are important in understanding cellular properties and functions. These microfluidic chips can be made of glass substrates, silicon wafers, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymers, polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) substrates, or polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) substrates. Out of these materials, PMMA substrates are cheap and can be easily processed using laser ablation and writing. Although a few microfluidic devices have been designed and fabricated for generating multiple, coexisting chemical and electrical stimuli, none of them was considered efficient enough in reducing experimental repeats, particular for screening purposes. In this report, we describe our design and fabrication of two PMMA-based microfluidic chips for investigating cellular responses, in the production of reactive oxygen species and the migration, under single or coexisting chemical/electrical/shear stress stimuli. The first chip generates five relative concentrations of 0, 1/8, 1/2, 7/8, and 1 in the culture regions, together with a shear stress gradient produced inside each of these areas. The second chip generates the same relative concentrations, but with five different electric field strengths created within each culture area. These devices not only provide cells with a precise, controllable micro-environment but also greatly increase the experimental throughput.

Micro-fabricated devices integrated with fluidic components provide an in vitro platform for cell studies mimicking the in vivo micro-environment. We developed polymethylmethacrylate-based microfluidic chips for studying cellular responses under single or coexisting chemical/electrical/shear stress stimuli.

El diseño de dispositivos de microfluidos para el estudio de las respuestas celulares en la sección individual o Coexistencia Química / eléctrica / Shear Stress Los estímulos

Microfluidic devices are capable of creating a precise and controllable cellular micro-environment of pH, temperature, salt concentration, and other ...

A Microfluidic Platform for Stimulating Chondrocytes with Dynamic Compression

Mechanical stimuli are known to modulate biological functions of cells and tissues. Recent studies have suggested that compressive stress alters growth plate cartilage architecture and results in growth modulation of long bones of children. To determine the role of compressive stress in bone growth, we created a microfluidic device actuated by pneumatic pressure, to dynamically (or statically) compress growth plate chondrocytes embedded in alginate hydrogel cylinders. In this article, we describe detailed methods for fabricating and characterizing this device. The advantages of our protocol are: 1) Five different magnitudes of compressive stress can be generated on five technical replicates in a single platform, 2) It is easy to visualize cell morphology via a conventional light microscope, 3) Cells can be rapidly isolated from the device after compression to facilitate downstream assays, and 4) The platform can be applied to study mechanobiology of any cell type that can grow in hydrogels.

This article provides detailed methods for fabricating and characterizing a pneumatically actuating microfluidic device for chondrocyte compression.

Una plataforma microfluídica para estimular los condrocitos con compresión dinámica

Mechanical stimuli are known to modulate biological functions of cells and tissues. Recent studies have suggested that compressive stress alters growth ...

Traction Microscopy Integrated with Microfluidics for Chemotactic Collective Migration

Cells change migration patterns in response to chemical stimuli, including the gradients of the stimuli. Cellular migration in the direction of a chemical gradient, known as chemotaxis, plays an important role in development, the immune response, wound healing, and cancer metastasis. While chemotaxis modulates the migration of single cells as well as collections of cells in vivo, in vitro research focuses on single-cell chemotaxis, partly due to the lack of the proper experimental tools. To fill that gap, described here is a unique experimental system that combines microfluidics and micropatterning to demonstrate the effects of chemical gradients on collective cell migration. Furthermore, traction microscopy and monolayer stress microscopy are incorporated into the system to characterize changes in cellular force on the substrate as well as between neighboring cells. As proof-of-concept, the migration of micropatterned circular islands of Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells is tested under a gradient of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), a known scattering factor. It is found that cells located near the higher concentration of HGF migrate faster than those on the opposite side within a cell island. Within the same island, cellular traction is similar on both sides, but intercellular stress is much lower on the side of higher HGF concentration. This novel experimental system can provide new opportunities to studying the mechanics of chemotactic migration by cellular collectives.

Collective cell migration in development, wound healing, and cancer metastasis is often guided by the gradients of growth factors or signaling molecules. Described here is an experimental system combining traction microscopy with a microfluidic system and a demonstration of how to quantify the mechanics of collective migration under biochemical gradient.

Microscopía de tracción integrada con microfluídicos para la migración colectiva quimiotáctica

Cells change migration patterns in response to chemical stimuli, including the gradients of the stimuli. Cellular migration in the direction of a chemical ...

Controlled Strain of 3D Hydrogels under Live Microscopy Imaging

External forces are an important factor in tissue formation, development, and maintenance. The effects of these forces are often studied using specialized in vitro stretching methods. Various available systems use 2D substrate-based stretchers, while the accessibility of 3D techniques to strain soft hydrogels, is more restricted. Here, we describe a method that allows external stretching of soft hydrogels from their circumference, using an elastic silicone strip as the sample carrier. The stretching system utilized in this protocol is constructed from 3D-printed parts and low-cost electronics, making it simple and easy to replicate in other labs. The experimental process begins with polymerizing thick (&#62;100 &#956;m) soft fibrin hydrogels (Elastic Modulus of ~100 Pa) in a cut-out at the center of a silicone strip. Silicone-gel constructs are then attached to the printed-stretching device and placed on the confocal microscope stage. Under live microscopy the stretching device is activated, and the gels are imaged at various stretch magnitudes. Image processing is then used to quantify the resulting gel deformations, demonstrating relatively homogenous strains and fiber alignment throughout the gel&#8217;s 3D thickness (Z-axis). Advantages of this method include the ability to strain extremely soft hydrogels in 3D while executing in situ microscopy, and the freedom to manipulate the geometry and size of the sample according to the user&#8217;s needs. Additionally, with proper adaptation, this method can be used to stretch other types of hydrogels (e.g., collagen, polyacrylamide or polyethylene glycol) and can allow for analysis of cells and tissue response to external forces under more biomimetic 3D conditions.

The presented method involves uniaxial stretching of 3D soft hydrogels embedded in silicone rubber while allowing live confocal microscopy. Characterization of the external and internal hydrogel strains as well as fiber alignment are demonstrated. The device and protocol developed can assess the response of cells to various strain regimes.

Cepa controlada de hidrogeles 3D bajo imágenes de microscopía en vivo

External forces are an important factor in tissue formation, development, and maintenance. The effects of these forces are often studied using specialized ...

Microfluidic Model to Mimic Initial Event of Neovascularization

Neovascularization is usually initialized from an existing normal vasculature and the biomechanical microenvironment of endothelial cells (ECs) in the initial stage varies dramatically from the following process of neovascularization. Although there are plenty of models to simulate different stages of neovascularization, an in vitro 3D model that capitulates the initial process of neovascularization under the corresponding stimulations of normal vasculature microenvironments is still lacking. Here, we reconstructed an in vitro 3D model that mimics the initial event of neovascularization (MIEN). The MIEN model contains a microfluidic sprouting chip and an automatic control, highly efficient circulation system. A functional, perfusable microchannel coated with endothelium was formed and the process of sprouting was simulated in the microfluidic sprouting chip. The initially physiological microenvironment of neovascularization was recapitulated with the microfluidic control system, by which ECs would be exposed to high luminal shear stress, physiological transendothelial flow, and various vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) distributions simultaneously. The MIEN model can be readily applied to the study of neovascularization mechanism and holds a potential promise as a low-cost platform for drug screening and toxicology applications.

Here, we provide a microfluidic chip and an automatically controlled, highly efficient circulation microfluidic system that recapitulates the initial microenvironment of neovascularization, allowing endothelial cells (ECs) to be stimulated by high luminal shear stress, physiological level of transendothelial flow, and various vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) distribution simultaneously.

Modelo microfluídico para imitar el evento inicial de neovascularización

Neovascularization is usually initialized from an existing normal vasculature and the biomechanical microenvironment of endothelial cells (ECs) in the ...

Mechanical Stimulation of Chondrocyte-agarose Hydrogels

Articular cartilage suffers from a limited repair capacity when damaged by mechanical insult or degraded by disease, such as osteoarthritis. To remedy this deficiency, several medical interventions have been developed. One such method is to resurface the damaged area with tissue-engineered cartilage; however, the engineered tissue typically lacks the biochemical properties and durability of native cartilage, questioning its long-term survivability. This limits the application of cartilage tissue engineering to the repair of small focal defects, relying on the surrounding tissue to protect the implanted material. To improve the properties of the developed tissue, mechanical stimulation is a popular method utilized to enhance the synthesis of cartilaginous extracellular matrix as well as the resultant mechanical properties of the engineered tissue. Mechanical stimulation applies forces to the tissue constructs analogous to those experienced in vivo. This is based on the premise that the mechanical environment, in part, regulates the development and maintenance of native tissue1,2. The most commonly applied form of mechanical stimulation in cartilage tissue engineering is dynamic compression at physiologic strains of approximately 5-20% at a frequency of 1 Hz1,3. Several studies have investigated the effects of dynamic compression and have shown it to have a positive effect on chondrocyte metabolism and biosynthesis, ultimately affecting the functional properties of the developed tissue4-8. In this paper, we illustrate the method to mechanically stimulate chondrocyte-agarose hydrogel constructs under dynamic compression and analyze changes in biosynthesis through biochemical and radioisotope assays. This method can also be readily modified to assess any potentially induced changes in cellular response as a result of mechanical stimuli.

The biosynthesis of cartilaginous extracellular matrix by chondrocytes can be affected by application of mechanical stimuli. This method describes the technique of applying dynamic compressive strains to chondrocytes encapsulated in 3D constructs and the evaluation of induced changes in chondrocyte metabolism.

La estimulación mecánica de condrocitos-agarosa hidrogeles

Articular cartilage suffers from a limited repair capacity when damaged by mechanical insult or degraded by disease, such as osteoarthritis. To remedy ...

Pattern Generation for Micropattern Traction Microscopy

Micropattern traction microscopy allows control of the shape of single cells and cell clusters. Furthermore, the ability to pattern at the micrometer length scale allows the use of these patterned contact zones for the measurement of traction forces, as each micropatterned dot allows for the formation of a single focal adhesion that then deforms the soft, underlying hydrogel. This approach has been used for a wide range of cell types, including endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts, platelets, and epithelial cells. 
This review describes the evolution of techniques that allow the printing of extracellular matrix proteins onto polyacrylamide hydrogels in a regular array of dots of prespecified size and spacing. As micrometer-scale patterns are difficult to directly print onto soft substrates, patterns are first generated on rigid glass coverslips that are then used to transfer the pattern to the hydrogel during gelation. First, the original microcontact printing approach to generate arrays of small dots on the coverslip is described. A second step that removes most of the pattern to leave islands of small dots is required to control the shapes of cells and cell clusters on such arrays of patterned dots. 
Next, an evolution of this approach that allows for the generation of islands of dots using a single subtractive patterning step is described. This approach is greatly simplified for the user but has the disadvantage of a decreased lifetime for the master mold needed to make the patterns. Finally, the computational approaches that have been developed for the analysis of images of displaced dots and subsequent cell-generated traction fields are described, and updated versions of these analysis packages are provided.

We describe improvements to a standard method for measuring cellular traction forces, based on microcontact printing with a single subtractive patterning step of dot arrays of extracellular matrix proteins on soft hydrogels. This method allows for simpler and more consistent fabrication of island patterns, essential for controlling cell cluster shape.

Generación de patrones para microscopía de tracción de micropatrones

Micropattern traction microscopy allows control of the shape of single cells and cell clusters. Furthermore, the ability to pattern at the micrometer ...

Estudio de la rigidez de los tejidos y los efectos del estrés de cizallamiento en las células endoteliales

In Vitro Model Integrating Substrate Stiffness and Flow to Study Endothelial Cell Responses

We present an innovative in vitro model aimed at investigating the combined effects of tissue rigidity and shear stress on endothelial cell (EC) function, which are crucial for understanding vascular health and the onset of diseases such as atherosclerosis. Traditionally, studies have explored the impacts of shear stress and substrate stiffness on ECs, independently. However, this integrated system combines these factors to provide a more precise simulation of the mechanical environment of the vasculature. The objective is to examine EC mechanotransduction across various tissue stiffness levels and flow conditions using human ECs. We detail the protocol for synthesizing gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) hydrogels with tunable stiffness and seeding them with ECs to achieve confluency. Additionally, we describe the design and assembly of a cost-effective flow chamber, supplemented by computational fluid dynamics simulations, to generate physiological flow conditions characterized by laminar flow and appropriate shear stress levels. The protocol also incorporates fluorescence labeling for confocal microscopy, enabling the assessment of EC responses to both tissue compliance and flow conditions. By subjecting cultured ECs to multiple integrated mechanical stimuli, this model enables comprehensive investigations into how factors such as hypertension and aging may affect EC function and EC-mediated vascular diseases. The insights gained from these investigations will be instrumental in elucidating the mechanisms underlying vascular diseases and in developing effective treatment strategies.

Autor destacado: Integración de la rigidez del sustrato y las condiciones de flujo para estudiar las respuestas de las células endoteliales en la mecanobiología va

We synthesized and characterized a tunable gelatin-based substrate for culturing vascular endothelial cells (ECs) under relevant vascular flow conditions. This biomimetic surface replicates both physiological and pathological conditions, enabling the study of mechanical forces on EC behavior and advancing our understanding of vascular health and disease mechanisms.

Modelo in vitro que integra la rigidez y el flujo del sustrato para estudiar las respuestas de las células endoteliales

We present an innovative in vitro model aimed at investigating the combined effects of tissue rigidity and shear stress on endothelial cell (EC) function, ...