Rapid Construction of 3D Biomimetic Capillary Networks with Complex Morphology Using Dynamic Holographic Processing

Abstract

Microvascular networks (MVNs) are crucial transportation systems in living creatures for nutrient distribution, fluid flow, energy transportation and so on. However, artificial manufacturing of MVNs, especially capillary networks with diameters (average 6 ≈ 9 µm), has always been a problem and bottleneck in tissue engineering due to the lack of efficient manufacturing methods. Herein, a dynamic holographic processing method is reported for producing 3D capillary networks with complex biomimetic morphologies. Combining the axial scanning of the focused beam and the dynamic display of holograms, biomimetic bifurcated microtubes, and porous microtubes with programmable morphologies are rapidly produced by two‐photon polymerization (TPP). As a proof‐of‐concept demonstration, porous microtubes are used as 3D capillary network scaffolds for culturing human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) to facilitate the exchange of nutrients and metabolites. Endothelial cells around the vascular scaffolds manifest obvious tight connections and 3D coverage after 3 days in vitro, which reveals that the scaffolds play a significant role in the morphology of dense vascularization. This flexible and rapid method of producing capillary networks provides a versatile platform for vascular physiology, tissue regeneration, and other biomedical areas.