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Kieda J, Shakeri A, Landau S, Wang EY, Zhao Y, Lai BF, Okhovatian S, Wang Y, Jiang R, Radisic M. Advances in cardiac tissue engineering and heart-on-a-chip. J Biomed Mater Res A 2024; 112:492-511. [PMID: 37909362 DOI: 10.1002/jbm.a.37633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2023] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023]
Abstract
Recent advances in both cardiac tissue engineering and hearts-on-a-chip are grounded in new biomaterial development as well as the employment of innovative fabrication techniques that enable precise control of the mechanical, electrical, and structural properties of the cardiac tissues being modelled. The elongated structure of cardiomyocytes requires tuning of substrate properties and application of biophysical stimuli to drive its mature phenotype. Landmark advances have already been achieved with induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiac patches that advanced to human testing. Heart-on-a-chip platforms are now commonly used by a number of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Here, we provide an overview of cardiac physiology in order to better define the requirements for functional tissue recapitulation. We then discuss the biomaterials most commonly used in both cardiac tissue engineering and heart-on-a-chip, followed by the discussion of recent representative studies in both fields. We outline significant challenges common to both fields, specifically: scalable tissue fabrication and platform standardization, improving cellular fidelity through effective tissue vascularization, achieving adult tissue maturation, and ultimately developing cryopreservation protocols so that the tissues are available off the shelf.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Kieda
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Amid Shakeri
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Shira Landau
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Erika Yan Wang
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Yimu Zhao
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Benjamin Fook Lai
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sargol Okhovatian
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ying Wang
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Richard Jiang
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Milica Radisic
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Abstract
Cardiovascular tissue constructs provide unique design requirements due to their functional responses to substrate mechanical properties and cyclic stretching behavior of cardiac tissue that requires the use of durable elastic materials. Given the diversity of polyester synthesis approaches, an opportunity exists to develop a new class of biocompatible, elastic, and immunomodulatory cardiovascular polymers. Furthermore, elastomeric polyester materials have the capability to provide tailored biomechanical synergy with native tissue and hence reduce inflammatory response in vivo and better support tissue maturation in vitro. In this review, we highlight underlying chemistry and design strategies of polyester elastomers optimized for cardiac tissue scaffolds. The major advantages of these materials such as their tunable elasticity, desirable biodegradation, and potential for incorporation of bioactive compounds are further expanded. Unique fabrication methods using polyester materials such as micromolding, 3D stamping, electrospinning, laser ablation, and 3D printing are discussed. Moreover, applications of these biomaterials in cardiovascular organ-on-a-chip devices and patches are analyzed. Finally, we outline unaddressed challenges in the field that need further study to enable the impactful translation of soft polyesters to clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sargol Okhovatian
- Institute of Biomaterials Engineering; University of Toronto; Toronto; Ontario, M5S 3G9; Canada
- Toronto General Research Institute, Toronto; Ontario, M5G 2C4; Canada
| | - Amid Shakeri
- Institute of Biomaterials Engineering; University of Toronto; Toronto; Ontario, M5S 3G9; Canada
- Toronto General Research Institute, Toronto; Ontario, M5G 2C4; Canada
| | - Locke Davenport Huyer
- Department of Applied Oral Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculties of Medicine and Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Milica Radisic
- Institute of Biomaterials Engineering; University of Toronto; Toronto; Ontario, M5S 3G9; Canada
- Toronto General Research Institute, Toronto; Ontario, M5G 2C4; Canada
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry; University of Toronto; Toronto; Ontario, M5S 3E5; Canada
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Meng Y, Zhang Y, Bühler M, Wang S, Asghari M, Stürchler A, Mateescu B, Weiss T, Stavrakis S, deMello AJ. Direct isolation of small extracellular vesicles from human blood using viscoelastic microfluidics. Sci Adv 2023; 9:eadi5296. [PMID: 37801500 PMCID: PMC10558121 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi5296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023]
Abstract
Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs; <200 nm) that contain lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins are considered promising biomarkers for a wide variety of diseases. Conventional methods for sEV isolation from blood are incompatible with routine clinical workflows, significantly hampering the utilization of blood-derived sEVs in clinical settings. Here, we present a simple, viscoelastic-based microfluidic platform for label-free isolation of sEVs from human blood. The separation performance of the device is assessed by isolating fluorescent sEVs from whole blood, demonstrating purities and recovery rates of over 97 and 87%, respectively. Significantly, our viscoelastic-based microfluidic method also provides for a remarkable increase in sEV yield compared to gold-standard ultracentrifugation, with proteomic profiles of blood-derived sEVs purified by both methods showing similar protein compositions. To demonstrate the clinical utility of the approach, we isolate sEVs from blood samples of 20 patients with cancer and 20 healthy donors, demonstrating that elevated sEV concentrations can be observed in blood derived from patients with cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingchao Meng
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Yanan Zhang
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zürich, 8091 Zürich, Switzerland
- Clinical Neuroscience Center, University of Zürich, 8091 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Marcel Bühler
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zürich, 8091 Zürich, Switzerland
- Clinical Neuroscience Center, University of Zürich, 8091 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Shuchen Wang
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Mohammad Asghari
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Alessandra Stürchler
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
- Brain Research Institute, University of Zürich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Bogdan Mateescu
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
- Brain Research Institute, University of Zürich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Tobias Weiss
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zürich, 8091 Zürich, Switzerland
- Clinical Neuroscience Center, University of Zürich, 8091 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Stavros Stavrakis
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Andrew J. deMello
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
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Rodríguez CF, Andrade-Pérez V, Vargas MC, Mantilla-Orozco A, Osma JF, Reyes LH, Cruz JC. Breaking the clean room barrier: exploring low-cost alternatives for microfluidic devices. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2023; 11:1176557. [PMID: 37180035 PMCID: PMC10172592 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1176557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Microfluidics is an interdisciplinary field that encompasses both science and engineering, which aims to design and fabricate devices capable of manipulating extremely low volumes of fluids on a microscale level. The central objective of microfluidics is to provide high precision and accuracy while using minimal reagents and equipment. The benefits of this approach include greater control over experimental conditions, faster analysis, and improved experimental reproducibility. Microfluidic devices, also known as labs-on-a-chip (LOCs), have emerged as potential instruments for optimizing operations and decreasing costs in various of industries, including pharmaceutical, medical, food, and cosmetics. However, the high price of conventional prototypes for LOCs devices, generated in clean room facilities, has increased the demand for inexpensive alternatives. Polymers, paper, and hydrogels are some of the materials that can be utilized to create the inexpensive microfluidic devices covered in this article. In addition, we highlighted different manufacturing techniques, such as soft lithography, laser plotting, and 3D printing, that are suitable for creating LOCs. The selection of materials and fabrication techniques will depend on the specific requirements and applications of each individual LOC. This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the numerous alternatives for the development of low-cost LOCs to service industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food, and biomedicine.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - María Camila Vargas
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | | | - Johann F. Osma
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Luis H. Reyes
- Department of Chemical and Food Engineering, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
- *Correspondence: Luis H. Reyes, ; Juan C. Cruz,
| | - Juan C. Cruz
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
- *Correspondence: Luis H. Reyes, ; Juan C. Cruz,
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