Fig. 3

Fabrication of a microvascular network by laser degradation. A Schematic of ablation and perfusion process of a human alveolus. B Recreation of mouse brain microvasculature. (Figure reprinted with permission from Ref. [52]). C Schematic diagram of microvascular fabrication in a multifunctional hydrogel biomaterial. a–f 3D endothelialized channels generated within photodegradable fluorescent gels. Ten days following microvascular endothelialization with HUVECs, F-actin is shown in red, and nuclei are shown in blue. Endothelialization of g, h 60 μm × 60 μm and i, j 45 μm × 45 μm (width × height) channels were obtained. (Figure reprinted with permission from Ref. [49]). D Left column: time-lapse images of PEGDA during laser-induced degradation of a 500 × 100 × 100 μm (x, y, z) channel. right column: As microbubbles form, they migrate to the reservoir and coalesce to form a large bubble. (Figure reprinted with permission from Ref. [53]). E Laser illumination using 145 nJ pulse energy results in structures in which both photoablation and cavitation-molded sections are present, indicating that this pulse energy is a threshold value at which the transition between the modes of photoablation and cavitation molding occurs. Scale bar, 10 µm. (Figure reprinted with permission from Ref. [54])