Patterned hydrogel microfibers prepared using multilayered microfluidic devices for guiding network formation of...

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Engineering
• Tissue Engineering
• Microfluidics

Background:

• Developing complex tissue constructs requires precise control over cellular microenvironments.
• Existing methods often lack the resolution to create intricate, multi-component structures for mimicking native tissues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To engineer novel multilayered hydrogel microfibers with complex cross-sectional morphologies using microfluidic devices.
• To investigate the potential of these microfibers for supporting and organizing neuron-like cell growth into functional networks.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of multilayered microfluidic devices featuring a micronozzle array.
• Introduction of different hydrogel precursor solutions through vertical micronozzles.
• Continuous gelling to form alginate hydrogel microfibers with distinct peripheral regions.
• Encapsulation and cultivation of neuron-like PC12 cells within the hydrogel microfibers.

Main Results:

• Successfully produced alginate hydrogel microfibers (60-130 μm diameter) with 4/8 parallel regions.
• Demonstrated proliferation of encapsulated PC12 cells within soft hydrogel regions.
• Observed formation of linear intercellular networks along fiber length, mimicking in vivo nerve bundles after 14 days.

Conclusions:

• Multilayered microfluidic devices enable the creation of hydrogel microfibers with complex, multi-regional compositions.
• These engineered microfibers provide a suitable scaffold for neuronal cell organization and network formation.
• The developed hydrogel microfibers show significant potential for applications in regenerative medicine and in vitro physiological studies.