Ex Vivo Perfusion Culture of Large Blood Vessels in a 3D Printed Bioreactor

We developed a simple cost-effective and adaptable bioreactor for the culture of blood vessels in vitro. The application of physiological flow and pulsatile forces to blood vessels ensures that the cells within the tissue remain viable. The application of bioreactors, such as the one we described here, enable the culture of blood vessels ex vivo and reduces the reliance on animal experiments in research.

The application of hemodynamic forces is crucial to maintain a healthy blood vessel in culture, while profusion bioreactors are a great solution to achieve this dynamic environment. Systems described in the existing literature are often challenging to replicate, expensive, and not easy to adapt. We have developed a new perfusion system titled EasyFlow.

This system is economic to produce, accommodates a different range of tissues, and is simple to modify so researchers can adapt it to their experimental needs. The production is open source, based on a 3D model, and is accessible through the paper. Also, it can be adapted to the needs of the research based on this 3D model.

EasyFlow is currently being employed to test mechanism of vascular repair, such as stem cells or biomaterial-based therapies. We also aim to use this bioreactor to induce the maturation of tissue-engineered blood vessels.