Patent ID: 8580546

Claim:
A micro-organ device, comprising: at least one micro-chamber for housing a micro-organ; and at least one microfluidic channel connected to the micro-chamber, wherein the micro-organ comprises cells arranged in a configuration that includes microscale spacing between portions of the cells to facilitate diffusion exchange between the cells and a medium supplied from the at least one microfluidic channel, wherein the micro-organ device is prepared by process comprising: providing a microscale support comprising the at least one microfluidic channel and the at least one micro-chamber for housing a micro-organ; bonding the microscale support to a substrate by covering the contact surfaces of each with titanium tetra(isopropoxide); and printing the micro-organ on the microscale support using a cell suspension in a syringe controlled by a computer-aided tissue engineering system, wherein the cell suspension comprises the cells suspended in a solution containing a material that functions as a three-dimensional scaffold, and wherein the printing is performed with the computer-aided tissue engineering system according to a particular pattern.