DIVAA Angioreactor with Cultrex RGF BME

DIVAA Angioreactors are one centimeter long cylinders that is sealed on one end and houses 20 μl total volume. They are made of implant-grade silicone and provided sterile. Angioreactors are filled with Cultrex Basement Membrane Extract (BME)* premixed with or without angiogenic-modulating factors and  implanted subcutaneously in the dorsal flank of nude mice.  Through the process of angiogenesis, host vascular endothelial cells proceed to invade and grow into the BME, forming vessels in the angioreactor. The sleek design of the angioreactor provides a standardized platform for reproducible and quantifiable in vivo angiogenesis assays. Compared to the plug assay, the angioreactor prevents assay errors due to absorption of the basement membrane extract by the mouse. In addition, the angioreactor uses only a fraction of the materials conserving both BME and test compounds used, and up to four angioreactors may be implanted in each mouse, allowing for greater statistical power.  These are an essential component of the Directed In Vivo Angiogenesis Assays (DIVAA).