Exploitation of physical and chemical constraints for three-dimensional microtissue construction in microfluidics

Abstract

There are a plethora of approaches to construct microtissues as building blocks for the repair and regeneration of larger and complex tissues. Here we focus on various physical and chemical trapping methods for engineering three-dimensional microtissue constructs in microfluidic systems that recapitulate the in vivo tissue microstructures and functions. Advances in these in vitro tissue models have enabled various applications, including drug screening, disease or injury models, and cell-based biosensors. The future would see strides toward the mesoscale control of even finer tissue microstructures and the scaling of various designs for high throughput applications. These tools and knowledge will establish the foundation for precision engineering of complex tissues of the internal organs for biomedical applications.

Figure 1

Schematic of 3D microtissue: in vivo and in vitro scenarios.

Figure 2

Cell trapping techniques.

Figure 3

Movie showing yeast cell trapping on a DEP chip (enhanced online).