Sharif Digital Repository

Efficient strategies to promote microvascularization in vascular tissue engineering, a central priority in regenerative medicine, are still scarce; nano- and micro-sized aggregates and spheres or beads harboring primitive microvascular beds are promising methods in vascular tissue engineering. Capillaries are the smallest type and in numerous blood vessels, which are distributed densely in cardiovascular system. To mimic this microvascular network, specific cell components and proangiogenic factors are required. Herein, advanced biofabrication methods in microvascular engineering, including extrusion-based and droplet-based bioprinting, Kenzan, and biogripper approaches, are deliberated with... 

Harnessing neural stem cells to repair neuronal damage is a promising potential treatment for neuronal diseases. To enable future therapeutic efficacy, the survival, proliferation, migration and differentiation of neural stem/progenitor cells (NPCs) should be accurately studied and optimized in in vitro platforms before transplanting these cells into the body for treatment purposes. Such studies can determine the appropriate quantities of the biochemical and biomechanical factors needed to control and optimize NPC behavior in vivo. In this study, NPCs were cultured within a microfluidic device while being encapsulated within the collagen matrix. The migration and differentiation of NPCs were... 

Fluid particle diffusion through blood flow within a capillary tube is an important phenomenon to understand, especially for studies in mass transport in the microcirculation as well as in solving technical issues involved in mixing in biomedical microdevices. In this paper, the spreading of tracer particles through up to 20% hematocrit blood, flowing in a capillary tube, was studied using a confocal micro-PTV system. We tracked hundreds of particles in high-hematocrit blood and measured the radial dispersion coefficient. Results yielded significant enhancement of the particle diffusion, due to a micron-scale flow-field generated by red blood cell motions. By increasing the flow rate, the...