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In vitro fabrication and application of engineered vascular hydrogels

Polymer Journal volume 52, pages 871–881 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

Vascularization is one of the most challenging areas of tissue engineering research. Vascular engineering holds the key to counteracting cardiovascular diseases, which are the main cause of death worldwide, and to performing prevascularization of regenerated in vitro tissues to improve implantation survival. Hydrogels have been thoroughly studied in this field due to their mechanical properties and tissue-like characteristics, including their water content, biocompatibility, and efficient transport of nutrients and metabolites; these characteristics make them applicable to vascular reconstruction. In this review, we focused on the fabrication of blood vessels using biofunctional hydrogels and compared natural and synthetic materials. Various manufacturing methods were also discussed, as well as their applications in modeling tissue in vitro.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge financial support from the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (17H02099), the JST Mirai-Program (18077228), the Bilateral Joint Research Projects of the JSPS and an AMED Grant (JP18be0304207).

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  1. Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan

    Muhammad Asri Abdul Sisak & Michiya Matsusaki

  2. Joint Research Laboratory (TOPPAN) for Advanced Cell Regulatory Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan

    Fiona Louis

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Abdul Sisak, M.A., Louis, F. & Matsusaki, M. In vitro fabrication and application of engineered vascular hydrogels. Polym J 52, 871–881 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-020-0331-z

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