ATPSpin: A Single Microfluidic Platform that Produces Diversified ATPS-Alginate Microfibers

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Engineering
• Microfluidics
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Microfluidic spinning offers potential for fabricating alginate fibers for various biomedical applications.
• Traditional methods face challenges like rapid clogging, limiting fiber diversity and reproducibility.
• Alginate fibers are valuable in drug screening, disease modeling, and diagnostics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce an aqueous two-phase system (ATPS)-enabled microfluidic spinning platform (ATPSpin) for diverse alginate fiber fabrication.
• To address and overcome the clogging issues prevalent in conventional fiber production.
• To demonstrate the platform's capability in producing various alginate fiber morphologies.

Main Methods:

• Utilized aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) within a microfluidic device for alginate fiber spinning.
• Developed an ATPS-Spinning platform (ATPSpin) to control alginate and cross-linker interactions (e.g., Ba²⁺ ions).
• Employed a regime map to guide system parameters for consistent production of different fiber forms.

Main Results:

• Successfully produced solid, hollow, and droplet-filled alginate fibers from a single device.
• Demonstrated consistent and reproducible fabrication of diverse alginate fiber structures.
• Confirmed biocompatibility of the generated alginate microfibers.
• Showcased cell encapsulation (HEK293) within microfibers as a proof-of-concept.

Conclusions:

• The ATPS-Spinning platform (ATPSpin) offers a versatile solution for microfluidic alginate fiber generation.
• This method effectively mitigates clogging, enabling the production of complex fiber architectures.
• The biocompatible alginate fibers hold promise for applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.