We acknowledge financial support from the American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant, 13SDG14670062 (PWA) and the University of Minnesota Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (ESH). We also acknowledge the microfabrication resources of the Minnesota Nano Center (MNC) and the image processing resources of the University Imaging Centers (UIC), both at the University of Minnesota. Parts of this work were carried out in the Characterization Facility, University of Minnesota, which receives partial support from NSF through the MRS program.

Note: The goal of this protocol is to construct and utilize a vascular muscular thin film (vMTF) with the structure shown in Figure 1 to assess contractility during extended culture of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) on PDMS substrates. To prolong VSMC viability, we utilize the crosslinker compound genipin. The substrates for these vMTFs are designed to analyze tissue contractility as developed by Grosberg et al.8 Other vMTF methods5 may also be used, with subtle chang...

<ol>
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Here, we present a protocol that builds upon previously developed vMTF technology, allowing extended experiment times more typical of chronic vascular disease pathways1,23,24. To accomplish this, we micropattern genipin, which has previously been shown to provide long-term functionalization of PDMS substrates11, using a microfluidic deposition technique to yield engineered arterial lamellae with improved vascular tissue viability for use in MTF contractility experiments. McCain et al. devel...

Vascular diseases, such as cerebral vasospasm1,2, hypertension3, and atherosclerosis4, develop slowly, are typically chronic in nature, and involve dysfunctional force-generation by vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). We aim to study these slow-progressing vascular dysfunctions using in vitro methods with finer control of experimental conditions than in in vivo models. We have previously developed vascular muscular thin films (vMTFs) for measuring functional contractility of in vitro engineered cardiovascular tissues5, but this method has been limited to relatively short-term studies. Here, we present a substrate modification technique that expands our previous vMTF technique for long-term measurements.
While the endothelium is also critical in overall vascular function, engineered arterial lamellae provide a useful model system for assessing changes in vascular contractility during disease progression. To engineer a functional vascular disease tissue model, both the structure and function of the arterial lamella, the basic contractile unit of the vessel, must be recapitulated with high fidelity. Arterial lamellae are concentric, circumferentially-aligned sheets of contractile VSMCs separated by sheets of elastin6. Microcontact printing of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins onto polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates has been previously used to provide guidance cues for tissue organization to mimic aligned cardiovascular tissue5,7-10. However, tissues patterned using microcontact printing can lose integrity after 3-4 days in culture, limiting their applicability in chronic studies. This protocol provides a solution to this issue by replacing previous microcontact printing techniques with a new microfluidic deposition technique.
Genchi et al. modified PDMS substrates with genipin and found prolonged viability of myocytes up to one month in culture11. Here, we use a similar approach to extend culture of patterned vascular smooth muscle cells on PDMS. Genipin, a natural hydrolytic derivative of the gardenia fruit, is a desirable candidate for substrate modification due to its relatively low toxicity compared to similar crosslinking agents and its increasing use as a biomaterial in the fields of tissue repair12,13 and ECM modification14,15. In this protocol, fibronectin is utilized as a cell guidance cue, as in previous microcontact printing methods; however, genipin is deposited onto PDMS substrates prior to fibronectin patterning. Thus, as cells degrade the patterned matrix, newly synthesized ECM from attached VSMCs can bind to the genipin-coated PDMS substrate.
This protocol utilizes a microfluidic delivery device for two-step genipin and ECM deposition. The design of the microfluidic device mimics microcontact printing patterns used for engineered arterial lamellae in previous studies16. Thus, we expect this protocol to yield arterial lamellae mimics that successfully recapitulate the highly-aligned in vivo structure and contractile function of arterial lamellae. We also evaluate tissue contractility to confirm that genipin is a suitable substrate modification compound for long-term in vitro vascular disease models.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Coverslip staining rack</td>
			<td>Electron Microscopy Sciences</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.emsdiasum.com/">www.emsdiasum.com/</a></td>
			<td>72239-04</td>
			<td>Alternative coverslip rack may be used</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Microscope cover glass - 25 mm</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific, Inc.</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.fishersci.com/">www.fishersci.com</a></td>
			<td>12-545-102</td>
			<td>Alternative brand and size may be used; Microscope slides may also be substituted as substrate base</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Poly(N-iso-propylacrylamide) (PIPAAm)</td>
			<td>Polysciences, Inc.</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.polysciences.com/">www.polysciences.com/</a></td>
			<td>#21458</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich makes an alternate compound, but we have not tested it for use with this protocol; Compound gives strong odor, use proper ventilation</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1-butanol</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/">www.sigmaaldrich.com</a></td>
			<td align="right">360465</td>
			<td>Hazard: flammable (store stock solution in flammable cabinet); flash point is 37 &#176;C, avoid heating; alternative product may be used</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Spincoater</td>
			<td>Specialty Coating Systems, Inc.</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.scscoatings.com/">www.scscoatings.com</a></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>SCS G3P8 Model; Alternative brand and/or model may be used</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)</td>
			<td>Ellsworth Adhesives (Dow Corning)</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.ellsworth.com/">www.ellsworth.com</a></td>
			<td>184 SIL ELAST KIT 0.5KG</td>
			<td>Alternative distributor may be used</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fluorescent microbeads</td>
			<td>Polysciences, Inc.</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.polysciences.com/">www.polysciences.com/</a></td>
			<td align="right">17151</td>
			<td>Alternative brand and/or larger size may be used</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Silicon wafers</td>
			<td>Wafer World, Inc.</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.waferworld.com/">www.waferworld.com</a></td>
			<td align="right">2398</td>
			<td>Alternative brand and/or size may be used</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Photoresist&#160;</td>
			<td>MicroChem Corp.</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.microchem.com/">www.microchem.com</a></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>SU-8 3025 allows 20-25-&#181;m feature height</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Contact mask aligner</td>
			<td>Suss MicroTec</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.suss.com/">www.suss.com</a></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>MA6 contact mask aligner; alternative brand and/or model may be used for wafer exposure</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Developer</td>
			<td>MicroChem Corp.</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.microchem.com/">www.microchem.com</a></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>SU-8 Developer; Hazard: flammable</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tridecafluro-trichlorosilane</td>
			<td>UCT Specialties, Inc.</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.unitedchem.com/">www.unitedchem.com</a></td>
			<td>T2492</td>
			<td>Silane for non-stick coating of patterned silicon wafers (CAUTION: Tridecafluro-trichlorosilane is a flammable and corrosive liquid. Proper personal protective equipment and local exhaust is necessary for use. )</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Surgical biopsy punch</td>
			<td>Integra LifeSciences Corp.</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.miltex.com/">www.miltex.com</a></td>
			<td>33-31AA-P/25</td>
			<td>Alternative brand and/or size may be used</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Genipin</td>
			<td>Cayman Chemical</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.caymanchem.com/">www.caymanchem.com</a></td>
			<td align="right">10010622</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich (G4796-25MG) makes an alternate compound, but we have not tested it for use with this protocol</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1X phosphate buffered saline</td>
			<td>Mediatech, Inc.</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.cellgro.com/">www.cellgro.com</a></td>
			<td>21-031-CV</td>
			<td>Alternative brand may be used</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fibronectin</td>
			<td>Corning, Inc.</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.corning.com/">www.corning.com</a></td>
			<td align="right">356008</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich (F1056) makes an alternate compound, but we have not tested it for use with this protocol</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Penicillin/streptomycin</td>
			<td>Life Technologies, Inc.</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.lifetechnologies.com/">www.lifetechnologies.com</a></td>
			<td>15140-122</td>
			<td>Alternative brand and/or size may be used, as long as concentration is the same</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Umbillical artery smooth muscle cells</td>
			<td>Lonza</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.lonza.com/">www.lonza.com</a></td>
			<td>CC-2579</td>
			<td>Alternative cell types may be used for alternative applications. Media should be modified accordingly</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tyrode&#39;s solution components</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/">www.sigmaaldrich.com</a></td>
			<td>various</td>
			<td>Alternative brand may be used for mixing solution</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Stereomicroscope</td>
			<td>Zeiss</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.zeiss.com/">www.zeiss.com</a></td>
			<td>4350020000000000</td>
			<td>SteREOLumar V12; Alternative brand/type of stereomicroscope may be used</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Temperature-controlled platform</td>
			<td>Warner Instruments</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.warneronline.com/">www.warneronline.com</a></td>
			<td>641659; 640352; 641922</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Endothelin-1</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/">www.sigmaaldrich.com</a></td>
			<td>E7764-50UG</td>
			<td>Alternative amount may be purchased, as long as treatment concentration is maintained</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>HA-1077</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td><a href="http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/">www.sigmaaldrich.com</a></td>
			<td>H139-10MG</td>
			<td>Alternative amount may be purchased, as long as treatment concentration is maintained</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

microfluidic genipin deposition technique for extended culture of micropatterned vascular muscular thin films

The chronic nature of vascular disease progression requires the development of experimental techniques that simulate physiologic and pathologic vascular behaviors on disease-relevant time scales. Previously, microcontact printing has been used to fabricate two-dimensional functional arterial mimics through patterning of extracellular matrix protein as guidance cues for tissue organization. Vascular muscular thin films utilized these mimics to assess functional contractility. However, the microcontact printing fabrication technique used typically incorporates hydrophobic PDMS substrates. As the tissue turns over the underlying extracellular matrix, new proteins must undergo a conformational change or denaturing in order to expose hydrophobic amino acid residues to the hydrophobic PDMS surfaces for attachment, resulting in altered matrix protein bioactivity, delamination, and death of the tissues.
Here, we present a microfluidic deposition technique for patterning of the crosslinker compound genipin. Genipin serves as an intermediary between patterned tissues and PDMS substrates, allowing cells to deposit newly-synthesized extracellular matrix protein onto a more hydrophilic surface and remain attached to the PDMS substrates. We also show that extracellular matrix proteins can be patterned directly onto deposited genipin, allowing dictation of engineered tissue structure. Tissues fabricated with this technique show high fidelity in both structural alignment and contractile function of vascular smooth muscle tissue in a vascular muscular thin film model. This technique can be extended using other cell types and provides the framework for future study of chronic tissue- and organ-level functionality.

The primary goal of this work was to extend the viability of micropatterned VSMCs on hydrophobic PDMS substrates. This was accomplished by incorporating a microfluidic delivery system to deposit patterned genipin and fibronectin on PDMS (Figure 1). Deposition of ECM proteins using microfluidic delivery yielded high fidelity transfer of the channel pattern with bare PDMS between lines of genipin and fibronectin (Figure 1D). The attached cells (Figure 1E) form confluent mo...

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Microfluidic Genipin Deposition Technique for Extended Culture of Micropatterned Vascular Muscular Thin Films

We present a method for microfluidic deposition of patterned genipin and fibronectin on PDMS substrates, allowing extended viability of vascular smooth muscle cell-dense tissues. This tissue fabrication method is combined with previous vascular muscular thin film technology to measure vascular contractility over disease-relevant time courses.

The chronic nature of vascular disease progression requires the development of experimental techniques that simulate physiologic and pathologic vascular ...

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Research

JoVE Journal

Bioengineering

7.6K Views.  University of Minnesota. We present a method for microfluidic deposition of patterned genipin and fibronectin on PDMS substrates, allowing extended viability of vascular smooth muscle cell-dense tissues. This tissue fabrication method is combined with previous vascular muscular thin film technology to measure vascular contractility over disease-relevant time courses.