FURI | Fall 2018

Diffusion of Dextran Across a Microfluidic Device Used to Model Native Myocardium

Every year, 1.2 million people suffer from myocardial infarction in the United States, despite this extreme severity there is no disease model that is pertinent to that of the human physiology. However, a three-Dimensional (3D) microfluidic device creates an admissible physiological environment that is specialized for both, tissue observation and disease modeling. This project will utilize the microfluidic device to optimize cardiac tissue viability within different 3D hydrogels, as well as measure molecular diffusion across the hydrogel within the device. This project is the basis for future studies that employs this generated physiologically relevant environment to study myocardial infarction.