Design and fabrication of a microfluidic system with embedded circular channels for rotary cell culture

Abstract

The development of functional blood vessels is today a fundamental pillar in the evaluation of new therapies and diagnostic agents. This article describes the manufacture and subsequent functionalization, by means of cell culture, of a microfluidic device with a circular section. Its purpose is to simulate a blood vessel in order to test new treatments for pulmonary arterial hypertension. The manufacture was carried out using a process in which a wire with a circular section determines the dimensions of the channel. To fabricate the blood vessel, cells were seeded under rotary cell culture to obtain a homogeneous cell seeding in the inner wall of the devices. This is a simple and reproducible method that allows the generation of blood vessel models in vitro.