Design and Characterization of Bionic Lymphatic Valve Based on Thin Film Shell Theory

The unidirectional flow of lymphatic fluid depends significantly on the valve structure within the lymphatic system, thus impacting tumor cell metastasis via the lymphatic system. However, existing microdevices for studying tumor lymphatic metastasis have overlooked the impact of open-close valve structures on the lymphatic flow field. This paper presents a novel biomimetic lymphatic valve structure, which innovatively incorporates the thin-shell theory into the modeling of lymphatic-mimicking structures. Through finite element simulations, we have systematically analyzed the influence of valve thickness and elasticity on its deformation characteristics. Materials closely matching the actual properties of biological tissues are synthesized. And the soft-etching technique was used to fabricate lymphomimetic microchannels, which were then tested to evaluate their capability in intercepting unidirectional flow. The results showed that the lymphomimetic valve structure had no observable leaks and effectively intercepted unidirectional flow. Our study not only elucidates the mechanism of lymphatic circulation but also presents a dependable biomimetic model that could facilitate additional biological investigations and phenotypic drug screening.