Fig. 2

Illustration of the endothelial cell isolation system. Firstly, the needle (a) placement is critical for a successful isolation. It should be located right above the openings of the coronary arteries (b) in aortic arch. A Masterflex L/S infusion pump (c) is started with a medium speed (400 ml/min) to wash and fill the ventricles with PBS (d). After the ventricles are washed, the pump is stopped so that the aortic valves will be closed. The pump is restarted after 30 s with a low speed (100 ml/min) so that flowing liquid (PBS) will not push the valves open but flows into the coronaries instead. Aorta is closed with medical clamps. After that, you should feel pressure on the aortic arch and coronary flow should start. The perfusion is continued until the flushing liquid is clear. Image courtesy of Dr. Henna J. Korpela