Microphysiological system for heart tissue - going from 2D to 3D culture

Recently, we could demonstrate positive effects of microfluidic cultivation conditions on maturation of cardiomyocytes derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS-CMs) in a 2D model. However, 3D cell culture models are much closer to physiological conditions. Combined with microfluidics, 3D systems should resemble the in-vivo conditions even better than standard 2D cultivation. For 3D models, two main technical challenges arise, the tissue integration and sufficient nutrient supply for the cells. This work focuses on concepts for the tissue integration based on a modular approach and different manufacturing technologies as well as using an oxygenator in the microfluidic device to provide sufficient oxygen supply for the cells.