Nanotechnological Strategies for Biofabrication of Human Organs
Figure 4
Magnetic-forces-driven vascular tissue engineering. The schematic illustrations shown above present three possible variations of magnetic-driven vascular tissue engineering, depending on the cells used and the placement of the vascular scaffold. In the first arrangement (a), the magnet (purple) is placed outside of the vascular scaffold and cells labeled with magnetic nanoparticles (green) are placed into the lumen. The magnet force causes the endothelial cells to adhere to and spread on the luminal surface of the vascular scaffold with the subsequent formation of a continuous endothelial monolayer. The second variation (b) is similar to the previous in that the magnet (purple) is placed outside of the scaffold (grey), but smooth muscle (red) and endothelial cells (green), both labeled with magnetic nanoparticles, are sequentially placed into the lumen for rapid adhesion and cellularization. In the third variation (c), the magnet (purple) is placed inside the vascular scaffold (grey) and smooth muscle cells labeled with magnetic nanoparticles (red) are placed outside of the scaffold. Rotation of the magnet enables the cell attachment with the subsequent formation of a concentric layer of smooth muscle cells on the external surface of the vascular scaffold. Endothelization of the internal luminal surface can then be achieved as described in first variation.
