Mosaic hydrogels: one-step formation of multiscale soft materials

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Microfluidics
• Tissue Engineering

Background:

• Hydrogels are versatile biomaterials used in various biomedical applications.
• Precise control over hydrogel properties at the microscale is crucial for advanced applications.
• Existing methods for creating patterned hydrogels can be complex and lack continuous production.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel one-step, continuous method for fabricating mosaic hydrogel sheets.
• To demonstrate the ability to encode information and create patterned material properties within hydrogels.
• To showcase the potential for assembling 3D soft material constructs with cellular components.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a microfluidic device for controlled incorporation of secondary biopolymers into a primary biopolymer sheet.
• Implementing a cross-linking step to stabilize the microscale composition and retain the engineered patterns.
• Demonstrating the spatial patterning of stiffness and diffusivity within the hydrogel sheets.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated continuous mosaic hydrogel sheets with defined microscale compositions.
• Encoded information within the hydrogel sheets, creating distinct stiffness and diffusivity patterns.
• Demonstrated the successful tessellation and population of these hydrogels with biomolecules, microparticles, and viable primary cells.
• Showcased the assembly of 3D soft material structures using the fabricated hydrogel sheets.

Conclusions:

• The presented one-step, continuous method offers a powerful platform for creating advanced mosaic hydrogels.
• This technique enables precise control over material properties and spatial organization for complex biomaterial designs.
• The ability to incorporate cells and biomolecules opens avenues for applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.