Fig. 2.

Simulation and characterization of the ASA-enabled microvascular meshes. a, b The contraction simulation shows an in-plane displacement contour plot of organized cellular mesh structure (a) and the normal stress distribution in the X (Cauchy stress component 11) direction (b) on a 4 × 4 micropillar substrate. The initial shape of cells and fibrin matrix is displayed in light gray. The micropillar diameter is 400 μm and micropillar-to-micropillar interval is 200 μm. The contracted region is marked as dotted purple ellipse and the junction region is purple circle. The displacement unit is μm and the unit of stress is mN μm⁻². c Cross-sectional images showing a HUVEC mesh suspended between micropillars. The micropillars are pseudo-colored as blue and HUVECs are pseudo-colored as purple. d SEM images of a HUVEC mesh (purple) at the inner and boundary regions on the micropillar substrate (blue). e Confocal images of a HUVEC mesh at the contracted and junction regions on the micropillar substrate showing the tubular structures. Human CD31 antibody is green, F-actin is red, and nucleus is blue. f Screenshots of a glass pipette poking a HUVEC mesh showing high resilience of the mesh