Oxygen-Purged Microfluidic Device to Enhance Cell Viability in Photopolymerized PEG Hydrogel Microparticles.

ABSTRACT: Encapsulating cells within biocompatible materials is a widely used strategy for cell delivery and tissue engineering. While cells are commonly suspended within bulk hydrogel-forming solutions during gelation, substantial interest in the microfluidic fabrication of miniaturized cell encapsulation vehicles has more recently emerged. Here, we utilize multiphase microfluidics to encapsulate cells within photopolymerized picoliter-volume water-in-oil droplets at high production rates. The photoinitiated polymerization of polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) is used to continuously produce solid particles from aqueous liquid drops containing cells and hydrogel forming solution. It is well understood that this photoinitiated addition reaction is inhibited by oxygen. In contrast to bulk polymer

SUBMITTER: Xia B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7442217 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature