Scientists "print" out the artificial microvascular network

Li Jiawen, associate professor of the University of Science and Technology of China, proposed a femtosecond laser dynamic holographic processing method suitable for the efficient construction of three-dimensional capillary stents, which can be used to generate three-dimensional capillary networks. The related research was recently published as a cover article in Advanced Functional Materials, and the related technology was patented.

▲ Cover of the journal

The purpose of tissue engineering is to construct tissues and organs with physiological functions for repairing human defects and treating diseases. Due to the lack of a blood supply system for tissues constructed in vitro, only skin, cartilage, and bone tissue engineering products are used in clinical practice. Scientists have successfully printed artificial heart, liver, lung, kidney and other tissues and organs, but artificial microvascular networks, especially capillary network printing, have always been a difficult problem and bottleneck in tissue engineering.

Femtosecond laser two-photon polymerization has nanoscale processing resolution and three-dimensional manufacturing capabilities, but the traditional processing strategy is inefficient in printing microvascular networks. On the basis of the previous work, the research group proposed a method based on local phase modulation, which generated an annular notched light field on the basis of the annular Bessel beam, and used the rapidly changing notched ringlight to be exposed in the photoresist, so as to realize the efficient processing of complex morphology bifurcated microtubule network and bionic porous microtubule, and the processing speed was more than 30 times higher than that of the traditional point-by-point processing method.

▲ Efficient construction methods of microvascular network: (a) schematic diagram of dynamic holographic efficient processing, (b) bifurcation of microtubules, (c) endothelial cells on the surface of microtubules

The research group used the porous microtubule network as a scaffold to guide the adherent growth of endothelial cells, and realized the construction of a complex microvascular network with definable morphology. According to the researchers, this work will provide a platform for research in the fields of tissue engineering, drug screening, and vascular physiology.