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An Additive Manufacturing Technique for the Facile and Rapid Fabrication of Hydrogel-based Micromachines with Magnetically Responsive Components
Published on: July 18, 2018
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Microfluidics-based fabrication of cell-laden microgels
Mohamed G A Mohamed1, Pranav Ambhorkar1, Roya Samanipour1
1School of Engineering, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, British Columbia V1V 1V7, Canada.
Biomicrofluidics
|March 13, 2020
Summary
Microfluidics enables precise fabrication of cell-laden hydrogel microdroplets for tissue engineering. These microfluidic techniques offer superior cell encapsulation compared to other microtechnologies.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Materials Science
- Tissue Engineering
Background:
- Microfluidic technology is crucial for fabricating monodisperse cell-laden hydrogel microdroplets.
- These microdroplets have significant applications in tissue engineering and biological studies.
- Existing microtechnology methods have limitations in achieving efficient cell encapsulation within hydrogels.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent advances in microfluidic-based droplet fabrication for cell encapsulation.
- To highlight the advantages of microfluidics over other microtechnologies for this application.
- To examine key components: hydrogels, cells, and device configurations.
Main Methods:
- Review of hydrogel properties (natural and synthetic) for cell encapsulation.
- Analysis of cell selection criteria for encapsulation.
- Critical review of microfluidic device configurations (T-junctions, flow-focusing, co-flowing) and their droplet formation mechanisms.
Main Results:
- Microfluidics provides superior control over monodisperse cell-laden hydrogel microdroplet fabrication.
- Various hydrogel types, cell choices, and microfluidic configurations are suitable for cell encapsulation.
- Established applications include 3D cell culturing and tissue repair platforms.
Conclusions:
- Microfluidics is a superior technology for producing cell-laden hydrogel microdroplets.
- Cell-laden hydrogel microdroplets are valuable tools for tissue engineering and studying cell interactions.
- Further research is needed to overcome challenges for clinical translation.
