Configurable gel geometry via flow patterning for angiogenisis assays

Here we introduce a versatile flow patterning technique (Fig1b) for pillar-less patterning of straight (Fig3) and highly curved (Fig2) gel geometries to test a wide range of in vivo-like vessel sprouting conditions. Much current research focuses on implementing angiogenesis on Organ-on-Chip (OOC) platforms for investigation of the role of signaling proteins[1] and the role of angiogenesis in cancer treatment[2]. Our technique avoids using pillars to confine the gel (Fig 1a) and thereby reduces the contact area between the growing spouts and the unnaturally stiff chip material which is known to affect migration rate of adherent cell types[4].