Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
9697 | Biomaterials | 2010 | 6 Pages |
Since the inception of soft lithography, microfluidic devices for cardiovascular research have been fabricated easily and cost-effectively using the soft lithography method. The drawback of this method was the fabrication of microchannels with rectangular cross-sections, which did not replicate the circular cross-sections of blood vessels. This article presents a novel, straightforward approach for the fabrication of microchannels with circular cross-sections in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), using soft lithography. The method exploits the polymerization of the liquid silicone oligomer around a gas stream when both of them are coaxially introduced in the microchannel with a rectangular cross-section. We demonstrate (i) the ability to control the diameter of circular cross-sections of microchannels from ca. 40–100 μm; (ii) the fabrication of microchannels with constrictions, and (iii) the capability to grow endothelial cells on the inner surface of the microchannels.