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Updated: Mar 8, 2026
Microfluidic Fabrication of Core-Shell Microcapsules carrying Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Spheroids
Published on: October 13, 2021
Improved survival of anchorage-dependent cells in core-shell hydrogel microcapsules via co-encapsulation with
In-Yong Kim1,2, Hyungsoo Choi1,2, Kyekyoon Kevin Kim1,2,3,4
1a Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering , University of Illinois , Urbana , IL , USA.
Abstract:
In this study, we investigated the effect of intracapsular environment on the survival of anchorage-dependent cells (ADCs) encapsulated in alginate microcapsules with three different core structures, i.e. liquid, semi-liquid and microsphere-encapsulating semi-liquid core, using NIH 3T3 fibroblasts as an ADC model. For the latter, we fabricated poly (ɛ-caprolactone) microspheres and co-encapsulated them with the cells, to establish cell-substrate interactions in the capsule. The fibroblast cells co-encapsulated with the microspheres exhibited higher survival and growth than those without. This study provides a "proof of concept" for employing microspheres as a cell-friendly surface to establish intracapsular cell-substrate interactions thus prolonging the survival of encapsulated therapeutic ADCs.
