a hydrogel channel-based system to model the blood flow dynamic stimuli

Metastasis is a dynamic process involving the
dissemination of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) through the
bloodstream to distant tissues within the body. An improved
understanding of the fluid flow induced mechanical forces
experienced by CTCs in the blood flow is crucial for fully
explicating the metastatic steps and defining vulnerable CTC
conditions for therapeutic intervention. Nevertheless, the
development of an in vitro platform mimicking able to mimic the
dynamic stimuli occurring during metastasis still remains a
challenge. We here developed a 3D hydrogel-based tissue model
provided with an inner channel resembling the vascularization of
the metastatic tumor tissue. The mechanical properties of two
different hydrogels (i.e. fibrin and alginate) were measured;
glucose mass transport resembling the blood flow through the
hydrogels was analyzed by performing a computational fluiddynamic
(CFD) analysis. Moreover, this system has been used to
evaluate the shear forces inducing fluid flow effects on high
metastatic breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231) circulating within
the hydrogel-based channel.