Three-Dimensionally Printed Microsystems to Facilitate Flow-Based Study of Cells from Neurovascular Barriers of the Retina
Rapid prototyping has produced accessible manufacturing methods that offer faster and more cost-effective ways to develop microscale systems for cellular testing. Commercial 3D printers are now increasingly adapted for soft lithography, where elastomers are used in tandem with 3D-printed substrates...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-08-01
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| Series: | Micromachines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/15/9/1103 |
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| author | Adam Leverant Larissa Oprysk Alexandra Dabrowski Kelly Kyker-Snowman Maribel Vazquez |
| author_facet | Adam Leverant Larissa Oprysk Alexandra Dabrowski Kelly Kyker-Snowman Maribel Vazquez |
| author_sort | Adam Leverant |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Rapid prototyping has produced accessible manufacturing methods that offer faster and more cost-effective ways to develop microscale systems for cellular testing. Commercial 3D printers are now increasingly adapted for soft lithography, where elastomers are used in tandem with 3D-printed substrates to produce in vitro cell assays. Newfound abilities to prototype cellular systems have begun to expand fundamental bioengineering research in the visual system to complement tissue engineering studies reliant upon complex microtechnology. This project used 3D printing to develop elastomeric devices that examined the responses of retinal cells to flow. Our experiments fabricated molds for elastomers using metal milling, resin stereolithography, and fused deposition modeling via plastic 3D printing. The systems were connected to flow pumps to simulate different flow conditions and examined phenotypic responses of endothelial and neural cells significant to neurovascular barriers of the retina. The results indicated that microdevices produced using 3D-printed methods demonstrated differences in cell survival and morphology in response to external flow that are significant to barrier tissue function. Modern 3D printing technology shows great potential for the rapid production and testing of retinal cell responses that will contribute to both our understanding of fundamental cell response and the development of new therapies. Future studies will incorporate varied flow stimuli as well as different extracellular matrices and expanded subsets of retinal cells. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2df0682459614c7dbd4eab7ebaa8a776 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2072-666X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Micromachines |
| spelling | doaj-art-2df0682459614c7dbd4eab7ebaa8a7762025-08-20T01:55:41ZengMDPI AGMicromachines2072-666X2024-08-01159110310.3390/mi15091103Three-Dimensionally Printed Microsystems to Facilitate Flow-Based Study of Cells from Neurovascular Barriers of the RetinaAdam Leverant0Larissa Oprysk1Alexandra Dabrowski2Kelly Kyker-Snowman3Maribel Vazquez4Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USADepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USADepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USADepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USADepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USARapid prototyping has produced accessible manufacturing methods that offer faster and more cost-effective ways to develop microscale systems for cellular testing. Commercial 3D printers are now increasingly adapted for soft lithography, where elastomers are used in tandem with 3D-printed substrates to produce in vitro cell assays. Newfound abilities to prototype cellular systems have begun to expand fundamental bioengineering research in the visual system to complement tissue engineering studies reliant upon complex microtechnology. This project used 3D printing to develop elastomeric devices that examined the responses of retinal cells to flow. Our experiments fabricated molds for elastomers using metal milling, resin stereolithography, and fused deposition modeling via plastic 3D printing. The systems were connected to flow pumps to simulate different flow conditions and examined phenotypic responses of endothelial and neural cells significant to neurovascular barriers of the retina. The results indicated that microdevices produced using 3D-printed methods demonstrated differences in cell survival and morphology in response to external flow that are significant to barrier tissue function. Modern 3D printing technology shows great potential for the rapid production and testing of retinal cell responses that will contribute to both our understanding of fundamental cell response and the development of new therapies. Future studies will incorporate varied flow stimuli as well as different extracellular matrices and expanded subsets of retinal cells.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/15/9/1103rapid prototypingendothelial cellsretinal neural cellsmorphologysurvival |
| spellingShingle | Adam Leverant Larissa Oprysk Alexandra Dabrowski Kelly Kyker-Snowman Maribel Vazquez Three-Dimensionally Printed Microsystems to Facilitate Flow-Based Study of Cells from Neurovascular Barriers of the Retina Micromachines rapid prototyping endothelial cells retinal neural cells morphology survival |
| title | Three-Dimensionally Printed Microsystems to Facilitate Flow-Based Study of Cells from Neurovascular Barriers of the Retina |
| title_full | Three-Dimensionally Printed Microsystems to Facilitate Flow-Based Study of Cells from Neurovascular Barriers of the Retina |
| title_fullStr | Three-Dimensionally Printed Microsystems to Facilitate Flow-Based Study of Cells from Neurovascular Barriers of the Retina |
| title_full_unstemmed | Three-Dimensionally Printed Microsystems to Facilitate Flow-Based Study of Cells from Neurovascular Barriers of the Retina |
| title_short | Three-Dimensionally Printed Microsystems to Facilitate Flow-Based Study of Cells from Neurovascular Barriers of the Retina |
| title_sort | three dimensionally printed microsystems to facilitate flow based study of cells from neurovascular barriers of the retina |
| topic | rapid prototyping endothelial cells retinal neural cells morphology survival |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/15/9/1103 |
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