Embodiments described herein relate generally to a three-dimensional ex vivo skeletal muscle tissue comprising a hydrogel and a plurality of cells that includes skeletal muscle cells, at least a portion of the cells being encapsulated inside the hydrogel. In some embodiments, the skeletal muscle tissue is characterized by one or more contractions in response to an electrical and/or chemical stimulation.

A well plate comprises a plate main body and at least one cavity in an upper side of the plate main body. An upwardly open annular channel is formed in the at least one cavity, the annular channel being delimited at an inner circumference thereof by a closed circumferential wall. A horizontal outer circumference of the circumferential wall decreases from bottom to top up to an upper edge of the circumferential wall. Within the horizontal circumference of the circumferential wall, at its upper edge, at least two retaining elements connect upwardly to the upper edge of the circumferential wall. The at least two retaining elements are at a free horizontal distance to one another, and at least one of the at least two retaining elements is elastically supported at the plate main body in horizontal direction.

The present invention relates generally to an organ-on-chip microfluidic device (10) comprising a first element (11), a second element (16), and a hydrogel layer (14) which is interposed between the first element and the second element. The shapes and dimensions of the first element, the second element, and the hydrogel layer are determined to enable the hydrogel layer to expand and retract in a given direction in the conditions of use disclosed herein, in particular to mimic organ functions in vitro. The present invention further relates to method of producing the microfluidic device and to application of said microfluidic device in biomedical field, especially for mimicking the architecture and function of organs.

A 3D scaffold of a biocompatible polymer and colonized with biological cells is provided., The biological cells can be cultured to form a 3D cell culture construct that closely approximates a physiological architecture. A method for producing the 3D scaffold colonized with biological cells is also provided.

The present disclosure relates to a micropatterned substrate that combines Si and TiB.sub.2, promoting preferential and selective cell growth behavior via substrate-mediated protein adsorption. The combination of Si and TiB.sub.2, differing in material stiffness, hardness, roughness, wettability and surface charges, is amenable to microfabrication processes and supports extended 2D and 3D cell culture. While versatile in the variety of customizable geometric patterns, the micropatterned substrate is a particularly appropriate platform for viable tissue culture.

A unit capable of promoting angiogenesis and/or nerve regeneration, including a gel component and proteoglycans, and the like that induces angiogenesis in cells and tissues transplanted into the body, and agents such as scaffolds for neural stem cells to be viable and proliferate after such transplantation.

A method of manufacturing a microstructure comprises printing a positive mold structure, filling the positive mold structure with a second material to form an elastically deformable negative mold structure, filling the negative mold structure with a third material to form the microstructure, and releasing the microstructure from the negative mold structure. Advantageously, the negative mold structure can be stretched to facilitate the release of the microstructure. For example, the microstructure comprises a chamber with capped micropillars for the generation and/or analysis of muscle tissue.

This disclosure relates to methods of growing cells within a hydrogel scaffold and pressurizing the hydrogel and cells to induce the cells to stretch and differentiation. The disclosed method can include coating a substrate of a bioreactor with a hydrogel and seeding cells onto the hydrogel and/or the substrate. The disclosed method can further include growing the seeded cells into a cell mass and pressurizing the cell mass and the hydrogel within the bioreactor. Pressurizing the cell mass and the hydrogel induces the cell mass and hydrogel to mechanically stretch, thereby inducing hypertrophy and cell alignment.

A full-function artificial organ fitting body comprises a cortex layer and an organ body tissue area. The organ body tissue area comprises a growth area, a differentiation area, a docking area, a branch arterial system, a branch nervous system and a branch venous system. The branch arterial system, the branch nervous system and the branch venous system are distributed in the differentiation area and form a main body three-dimensional skeleton structure with the outer growth area and the middle docking area.

A 4D-perfused tumoroid-on-a-chip platform used in personalized cancer treatment. The platform includes a plate with a plurality of bottomless wells that resides atop a microfluidic channel layer, which in turn resides atop a surface acoustic wave (SAW) based sensor layer that is capable of measuring potential pH values of fluids disposed within the platform. The microfluidic channel layer includes a plurality of bioreactors, with each bioreactor including an inlet well, a culture well, and an outlet well. The inlet well, culture well, and outlet well form a closed system via fluid conduits spanning from the inlet well to the culture well, as well as from the culture well to the outlet well. Due to the fluid flow from the plate to the chip, and from the inlet well to the outlet well on the chip through the culture well, target cell (tumoroid) growth is promoted within the culture well.