Figure 3.

Enclosed microchannels within a porous silk platform. (A) Schematic of the bonding procedure in which an adhesive solution is pipetted into the flat surface, platforms are stacked, and the adhesive is cured. (B–C) H&E histological cross sections of bonded microfluidic channels, showing the channel profile surrounded by a porous scaffold. (B) Microchannels bonded with a silk-based adhesive. The silk-based adhesive is prepared by mixing 6% wt v⁻¹ silk solution with 0.3 M HCl in a 9:1 volume ratio. (C) Microchannels bonded with a fibrin adhesive. Fibrin adhesive is prepared by mixing 1–20 mg ml⁻¹ fibrinogen solution with a 5 U ml⁻¹ in a 4:1 volume ratio. B & C scale bars = 50 μm.