Creating Vascularized Structure by Microfluidic Chip Technology

Organoid is a hot research field in recent years. It can imitate the natural structure, produce spatial tissues similar to the corresponding organs, and reproduce some functions of the corresponding organs, so as to provide a highly physiologically related system. However, vascularization is still one of the biggest challenges faced by organoids. In the field of microfluidic technology, vascularization can be achieved by many methods. Recently, the rapid development of biological 3D printing technology has attracted extensive attention because of its advantages such as fast and wide application range. Therefore, this paper proposes an easy to operate, low-cost, open source, commercially available biological 3D printing systems as a solution to realize vascularization in the field of microfluidics. The printer is equipped with a coaxial printing needle and uses sodium alginate and calcium chloride as materials to print hollow, vascular like hydrogel structures to solve the problem of vascularization in the filed of organoids. The influence of the flow rate and moving speed of the extrusion head on the print quality is also discussed, and the best print window is finally obtained. The printing system is applicable to a variety of materials and provides a new idea for the realization of vascularization.