FIGURE 3.

Fibrin BAM engineering. Fibrin BAMs are shown at different stages of engineering. (A) Cell-ECM mix in the silicon mold; metal part is a 2-cm long transfer device around which the cell-ECM mix contracts. (B) Two hours after casting, the BAMs were flooded with growth medium and the cell-ECM mix started to contract. (C) Two days later, BAMs are incubated in differentiation medium and contraction completes to form a 2-cm long, ∼1 mm thick tissue. (D) Whole mount tropomyosin staining of a human BAM shows that most myoblasts have fused to form myofibers aligned along the axis of the attachment sites. Scale bar is 500 μm.