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Author Spotlight: Development of a Scaffold-Free Acoustic Assembly Method for High-Quality 3D Cell Spheroid Culture
Published on: October 13, 2023
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Well-free agglomeration and on-demand three-dimensional cell cluster formation using guided surface acoustic waves
Jiyang Mei1, Aditya Vasan1, Uri Magaram2
1Medically Advanced Devices Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Jacobs School of Engineering and Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr MC0411, La Jolla, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA.
Biomedical Microdevices
|May 21, 2022
Summary
Researchers developed a novel, well-free method using surface acoustic waves (SAW) to create large, 1.4-mm multicellular tissue constructs for tissue engineering and drug testing applications.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Tissue Engineering
- Acoustic Manipulation
Background:
- Three-dimensional cell agglomerates are crucial for tissue engineering and drug testing.
- Existing methods for forming cell clusters can be complex or damaging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a non-contact, well-free method for generating large multicellular agglomerates.
- To investigate the potential of surface acoustic waves (SAW) for precise cell assembly.
Main Methods:
- Utilized 100-MHz surface acoustic waves (SAW) with a fluid couplant to generate acoustic streaming in cell-laden media.
- Employed acoustic streaming to concentrate human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells into clusters within 10 minutes.
- Demonstrated translation, merging, and folding of clusters to form larger agglomerates up to 1.4 mm.
Main Results:
- Successfully formed large (1.4 mm) multicellular clusters without direct contact.
- Achieved rapid cluster formation (under 10 minutes) and subsequent assembly into larger structures.
- Confirmed intercellular communication via calcium ion signaling and multiprotein junctional complexes.
Conclusions:
- The SAW-based method offers a versatile and efficient approach for creating complex 3D cell agglomerates.
- This technique holds significant promise for advancing tissue engineering and drug screening platforms.
- The method allows for the simultaneous formation of numerous cell agglomerates in a single dish.
