Stop-flow lithography to generate cell-laden microgel particles.

Panda, Priyadarshi; Ali, Shamsher; Lo, Edward; Chung, Bong Geun; Hatton, T Alan; Khademhosseini, Ali; Doyle, Patrick S · Lab Chip · 2008

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Encapsulating cells within hydrogels is important for generating three-dimensional (3D) tissue constructs for drug delivery and tissue engineering. This paper describes, for the first time, the fabrication of large numbers of cell-laden microgel particles using a continuous microfluidic process called stop-flow lithography (SFL). Prepolymer solution containing cells was flowed through a microfluidic device and arrays of individual particles were repeatedly defined using pulses of UV light through a transparency mask. Unlike photolithography, SFL can be used to synthesize microgel particles continuously while maintaining control over particle size, shape and anisotropy. Therefore, SFL may become a useful tool for generating cell-laden microgels for various biomedical applications.

Medical subject headings