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.