Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 15, 2025
10:44
Author Spotlight: In Vitro Hydrogel Model for Glioblastoma Microenvironment Study
Published on: September 22, 2023
2.0K
Redox-responsive functionalized hydrogel marble for the generation of cellular spheroids
Wahyu Ramadhan1, Yuki Ohama1, Kosuke Minamihata1
1Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Moto-oka, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan.
Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering
|July 9, 2020
Summary
Researchers developed redox-responsive hydrogel marbles (HMs) for 3D cell culture, overcoming liquid marble evaporation issues. These HMs support cell proliferation and enhance liver-specific functions in HepG2 spheroids, showing promise for tissue engineering.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Tissue Engineering
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Liquid marbles (LMs) are promising microbioreactors but suffer from core liquid evaporation, limiting their use in cell culture.
- Hydrogels offer a suitable 3D environment for cell growth and function.
- Developing stable, functional cell culture platforms is crucial for advancing tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
Purpose of the Study:
- To fabricate redox-responsive hydrogel marbles (HMs) as an advanced 3D cell culture platform.
- To investigate the influence of hydrogel composition on cell spheroid development and function.
- To demonstrate the potential of HMs for long-term cell culture and tissue engineering applications.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of HMs by encapsulating HepG2 cells within a redox-responsive hydrogel precursor solution inside LMs.
- Culturing HepG2 cells within HMs to form 3D spheroids.
- Assessing spheroid size, liver-specific functions (albumin and urea secretion), and DNA content after culture.
Main Results:
- HMs successfully encapsulated HepG2 cells, enabling spheroid formation and proliferation.
- Spheroid diameter increased significantly with higher Gela-SH concentration, reaching up to 180 μm.
- Long-term culture in HMs enhanced liver-specific functions and DNA content compared to conventional LMs.
Conclusions:
- Redox-responsive HMs provide a stable and functional 3D cell culture platform, overcoming LM evaporation limitations.
- The developed HMs support the growth and differentiation of HepG2 spheroids, improving liver-specific functions.
- These HMs show significant potential for applications in tissue engineering and the development of advanced microbioreactors.
