What is Angiogenesis?
Angiogenesis can be defined as the growth of new blood vessels from preexisting ones.It is essential for the growth and maintenance of the body. For example, wound healing after an injury involves angiogenic processes. It is also the fundamental step in the transition of a tumor from a dormant state to a malignant one. Tumor Angiogenesis A growing tumor needs a consistent supply of oxygen and nutrients. This demand is met by the effect of signaling molecules released by the growing tumor that influence existing blood vessels to give rise to new ones that grow towards the tumorous growth. | Our Study
To study angiogenesis in vitro, simple cell migration or cell proliferation assays are often employed in controlled environments. These studies are binary in nature because they only study isolated events that occur in response to a certain stimulus. There is a need for more sophisticated cell culture systems that model the associated cellular and convective mass transfer processes that are involved in tumor angiogenesis. We plan to study the dynamic physiological processes involved in angiogenesis by combining a microfluidic device with cell culture to model the in vivo process of sprouting angiogenesis |