Microfabrication of shaped MM-scale tissues to study vascular development using a modular bottom-up approach

Recapitulating developmental mechanisms in vitro necessitate models of intermediate complexity, between simple 2D culture and complex in vivo models, which integrate both physical and molecular cues. Here, we describe a cheap and simple bottom-up microfabrication method to build 3D millimeter-scale tissues with geometric shapes. These tissues are suitable for long-term culture in tissue-based assays and as implants for clinical applications. In a case study, we recapitulate some mechanisms of vasculogenesis, the assembly of capillary blood vessels