Microfluidic fabrication technologies are emerging as viable platforms for extracorporeal lung assist devices and oxygenators for cardiac surgical support and critical care medicine, based in part on their ability to more closely mimic the architecture of the human vasculature than existing technologies. In comparison with current hollow fiber oxygenator technologies, microfluidic systems have more physiologically-representative blood flow paths, smaller cross section blood conduits and thinner gas transfer membranes. These features can enable smaller device sizes and a reduced blood volume in the oxygenator, enhanced gas transfer efficiencies, and may also reduce the tendency for clotting in the system. Several critical issues need to be addressed in order to advance this technology from its current state and implement it in an organ-scale device for clinical use. Here we report on the design, fabrication and characterization of multilayer microfluidic oxygenators, investigating scaling effects associated with fluid mechanical resistance, oxygen transfer efficiencies, and other parameters in multilayer devices. Important parameters such as the fluidic resistance of interconnects are shown to become more predominant as devices are scaled towards many layers, while other effects such as membrane distensibility become less significant. The present study also probes the relationship between blood channel depth and membrane thickness on oxygen transfer, as well as the rate of oxygen transfer on the number of layers in the device. These results contribute to our understanding of the complexity involved in designing three-dimensional microfluidic oxygenators for clinical applications.

Functional endothelialized networks constitute a critical building block for vascularized replacement tissues, organ assist devices, and laboratory tools for in vitro discovery and evaluation of new therapeutic compounds. Progress towards realization of these functional artificial vasculatures has been gated by limitations associated with the mechanical and surface chemical properties of commonly used microfluidic substrate materials and by the geometry of the microchannels produced using conventional fabrication techniques. Here we report on a method for constructing microvascular networks from polystyrene substrates commonly used for tissue culture, built with circular cross-sections and smooth transitions at bifurcations. Silicon master molds are constructed using an electroplating process that results in semi-circular channel cross-sections with smoothly varying radii. These master molds are used to emboss polystyrene sheets which are then joined to form closed bifurcated channel networks with circular cross-sections. The mechanical and surface chemical properties of these polystyrene microvascular network structures enable culture of endothelial cells along the inner lumen. Endothelial cell viability was assessed, documenting nearly confluent monolayers within 3D microfabricated channel networks with rounded cross-sections.

One of the principal challenges in artificial lung technology has been the ability to provide levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange that rival those of the natural human lung, while mitigating the deleterious interaction between blood and the surface of the synthetic gas exchange membrane. This interaction is exacerbated by the large oxygenator surface area required to achieve sufficient levels of gas transfer. In an effort to address this challenge, microfluidics-based artificial lung technologies comprising stacked microchannel networks have been explored by several groups. Here we report the design, fabrication and initial testing of a parallel plate multilayered silicone-based microfluidic construct containing ultrathin gas exchange membranes, aimed at maximizing gas transfer efficiency while minimizing membrane-blood contact area. The device comprises a branched microvascular network that provides controlled wall shear stress and uniform blood flow, and is designed to minimize blood damage, thrombosis and inflammatory responses seen in current oxygenators. Initial testing indicates that flow distribution through the multilayer structure is uniform and that the thin membrane can withstand pressures equivalent to those expected during operation. Oxygen transfer using phosphate buffered saline as the carrier fluid has also been assessed, demonstrating a sharp increase in oxygen transfer as membrane thickness is reduced, consistent with the expected values of oxygen permeance for thin silicone membranes.

Tissue-engineered constructs, at the interface of material science, biology, engineering, and medicine, have the capacity to improve outcomes for cardiac patients by providing living cells and degradable biomaterials that can regenerate the native myocardium. With an ultimate goal of both delivering cells and providing mechanical support to the healing heart, we designed three-dimensional (3D) elastomeric scaffolds with (1) stiffnesses and anisotropy mimicking explanted myocardial specimens as predicted by finite-element (FE) modeling, (2) systematically varied combinations of rectangular pore pattern, pore aspect ratio, and strut width, and (3) structural features approaching tissue scale. Based on predicted mechanical properties, three scaffold designs were selected from eight candidates for fabrication from poly(glycerol sebacate) by micromolding from silicon wafers. Large 20×20 mm scaffolds with high aspect ratio features (5:1 strut height:strut width) were reproducibly cast, cured, and demolded at a relatively high throughput. Empirically measured mechanical properties demonstrated that scaffolds were cardiac mimetic and validated FE model predictions. Two-layered scaffolds providing fully interconnected pore networks were fabricated by layer-by-layer assembly. C2C12 myoblasts cultured on one-layered scaffolds exhibited specific patterns of cell elongation and interconnectivity that appeared to be guided by the scaffold pore pattern. Neonatal rat heart cells cultured on two-layered scaffolds for 1 week were contractile, both spontaneously and in response to electrical stimulation, and expressed sarcomeric α-actinin, a cardiac biomarker. This work not only demonstrated several scaffold designs that promoted functional assembly of rat heart cells, but also provided the foundation for further computational and empirical investigations of 3D elastomeric scaffolds for cardiac tissue engineering.