Design proposal for a microfluidic device for sprouting angiogenesis

Cancer growth and metastasis is dependent on angiogenesis, the development of new blood vessels. Endothelial cell proliferation and migration are critical cellular processes in the formation of new blood vessels. Many anticancer therapies are aimed at inhibiting angiogenesis, and there is a need for the development of in vitro models for studying these cellular processes. The goal of this project is to develop a microfluidic device for the purpose of observing cell migration in response to controlled mechanical and chemical stimuli. To represent physiological microvasculature, the system exhibits a central cell culture channel (1 mm diameter) and two parallel reservoir channels. A port system was also designed to drive fluid flow through the cell culture chamber with an external syringe pump and introduce chemotaxins or control conditions in the reservoirs. This will create an environment conducive to cell migration under the effects of fluid shear stresses. Computational fluid dynamics will be used to predict mechanical stresses inside the cell culture chamber and cell migration will be observed with inverted light microscopy. The successful implementation of our design will introduce a unique platform that models sprouting angiogenesis and allows for the independent control of fluid shear stresses and chemical concentration gradients.