Design and fabrication of a microfluidic system with embedded circular channels for rotary cell culture

The development of functional blood vessels is today a fundamental pillar in the evaluation of new therapies and diagnostic agents. This article describes the manufacture and subsequent functionalization, by means of cell culture, of a microfluidic device with a circular section. Its purpose is to simulate a blood vessel in order to test new treatments for pulmonary arterial hypertension. The manufacture was carried out using a process in which a wire with a circular section determines the dimensions of the channel. To fabricate the blood vessel, cells were seeded under rotary cell culture to obtain a homogeneous cell seeding in the inner wall of the devices. This is a simple and reproducible method that allows the generation of blood vessel models in vitro. Graphical and Lay Summary The development of functional blood vessels today is a fundamental pillar in the evaluation of new therapies and diagnostic agents to treat pulmonary hypertension. In this study, a rotary incubation system has been used to ensure the homogeneous adhesion of endothelial cells in the walls of a tubular device fabricated using the micro‐wire technique in order to mimic vessels. This work is the basis for evaluating if nanoparticle‐based therapies will be able to cross the endothelial layer in the inner part of the pulmonary artery vessel in healthy proliferative conditions and then reach the smooth muscle cell layer, their therapeutic target in pulmonary hypertension.