Biochemistry JoVE (Open Access) Citable · DOI

Directed Cellular Self-Assembly to Fabricate Cell-Derived Tissue Rings for Biomechanical Analysis and Tissue Engineering

Name: Directed Cellular Self-Assembly to Fabricate Cell-Derived Tissue Rings for Biomechanical Analysis and Tissue Engineering
Uploaded: 2026-06-17
Duration: 8 min
Description: Each year, hundreds of thousands of patients undergo coronary artery bypass surgery in the United States.1 Approximately one third of these patients do ...

DOI: 10.3791/3366-v

What you'll learn

✓ Fabricate ring-shaped agarose molds for cellular self-assembly
✓ Culture smooth muscle cells into 3D tissue rings
✓ Measure mechanical properties of engineered tissue rings
✓ Assemble tissue rings into larger tissue constructs

Protocol

This article outlines a versatile method to create cell-derived tissue rings by cellular self-assembly. Smooth muscle cells seeded into ring-shaped agarose wells aggregate and contract to form robust three-dimensional (3D) tissues within 7 days. Millimeter-scale tissue rings are conducive to mechanical testing and serve as building blocks for tissue assembly.

Difficulty

intermediate

Total time

~7 days (including cell culture and tissue maturation)

Model organism

Smooth muscle cells (primary or cell line)

Biosafety

BSL-1

Steps

Fabricate ring-shaped agarose molds

Create ring-shaped wells in agarose substrates using mold templates. These wells serve as guides for cellular self-assembly.

▶ 01:13

Seed and culture smooth muscle cells

Inoculate ring-shaped agarose wells with smooth muscle cells and culture for 7 days, allowing cells to self-assemble and contract into cohesive 3D tissue rings.

▶ 02:41

Harvest tissue rings and measure thickness

Extract matured tissue rings from molds and quantify tissue thickness using standard measurement techniques.

▶ 03:35

Perform mechanical testing on rings

Subject harvested tissue rings to biomechanical testing protocols to assess contractile and elastic properties.

▶ 04:02

Assemble rings into larger tissue tubes

Stack and integrate individual tissue rings to create higher-order tissue constructs such as tubular structures for downstream applications.

▶ 04:47

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