3D flow-focusing microfluidic biofabrication: One-chip-fits-all hydrogel fiber architectures

Guimarães, Carlos F.; Gasperini, Luca; Marques, Alexandra P.; Reis, Rui L.

doi:10.1016/j.apmt.2021.101013

Cited by 17 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Compared to electrospinning, the high degree of customization possible in a microfluidic chip can enable the fabrication of multiple types of internal structures inaccessible with other fabrication techniques (Jun et al, 2014; Sun et al, 2018 ). Cells can be encapsulated by mixing them together with the hydrogel precursors (as with electrospinning) or by merging cell-containing droplets with the fiber precursor droplets directly on-chip, minimizing the time over which the cells and the uncrosslinked precursor materials directly interact and thus potentially reducing any cytotoxicity related to such precursor materials ( Guimarães et al, 2021 ; Wang et al, 2021 ). As one example of such an approach, Wang et al fabricated one-step aqueous-droplet-filled hydrogel fibers as islet organoid carriers using a coaxial channel microfluidic chip in which droplets containing human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) loaded into the inner channel were encapsulated in an alginate hydrogel shell formed from middle and outer channels by ionic crosslinking of sodium alginate (NaA) with calcium chloride (CaCl 2 ) ( Wang et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Emerging Fabrication Techniques For Hydrogel-based Tissue Sc...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering: Addressing Key Design Needs Toward Clinical Translation

Dawson

Lamb

et al. 2022

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

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Section: Emerging Fabrication Techniques For Hydrogel-based Tissue Sc...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering: Addressing Key Design Needs Toward Clinical Translation

Dawson

Lamb

et al. 2022

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

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“…Distinctly, the use of ionic hydrogel crosslinking and microfluidic precursor mixing was very recently employed to sequentially fabricate individual, cell-laden 3D gradients based on gellan gum and the highly versatile microfluidic spinning biofabrication techniques. [254,252] The researchers showed how these gradients could be combined with automated singlecell image analysis to quickly discover and optimize different biomaterial blends toward distinct adipose-derived stem cellsmaterial interactions and commitment (Figure 8). They further demonstrate how this versatile technique can be employed for obtaining 3D gradients by entirely changing materials (gellan gum-to-GelMA), crosslinking type (ionic-to-light), and physical performance (adhesion-to-differentiation).…”

Section: Gradients Within Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Microfluidic-driven hydrogel manipulation can very efficiently create droplets, [248] 3D microfibers, [249,250] or combinations thereof. [251] Typically, microfluidic-driven biofabrication is extremely fast and capable of introducing 3D microarchitectures that can recapitulate the organization of living tissues, [205,252] as well as establish 3D gradients by controlled hydrogel precursor mixing, followed by deposition onto chips, [253] or spinning into 3D fibers. [254] Other recent approaches, such as microgel fabrication and sequential annealing, were also demonstrated as powerful screening platforms.…”

Section: Gradients Within Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pushing the Natural Frontier: Progress on the Integration of Biomaterial Cues toward Combinatorial Biofabrication and Tissue Engineering

2022

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and shown able to integrate the organism and maintain physiological function for many years after implantation. Even though these are examples of success, they represent mostly nonvital organs generally simpler in terms of morphology and cellular complexity. On the other hand, vital organs like the kidney, heart, liver, or lungs top the list of transplant requirements worldwide. [4] Yet, there are no TE equivalents of these organs so far, resulting from their complex cellular function and architecture, which are extremely hard to engineer, leading to a continuous effort to better organ recovery and transplantation. [5] Biomaterials have been faithful companions of cells in TE strategies, physically supporting them and allowing the maintenance of their phenotype in distinct environments. In fact, with the recent advances in the field of 3D printing, biomaterial-based 3D structures can now be manipulated to approach the architecture of complex tissues and organs, such as vascular beds and cardiac components. [6,7] However, shape and architecture alone cannot assure the ultimate TE challenge: recapitulation of physiological cellular and tissue function. As such, there is one additional burden for biomaterials to carry-the control of cellular behavior. These requirements force upon biomaterials the need to be intelligent and dynamic, supporting and efficiently directing the behavior of cells toward specific outcomes.Natural-origin materials have been continuously derived from different animal and plant components, gathering attention as biomaterials due to their original role in biological environments. [8] However, their bioactivity and biodegradability can be just as limited as that of synthetic components. Thus, this review explores some of the leading natural materials that have been used in TE approaches, looking at their typical applications, degradability properties, and ability to interact with and be modified by the action of cells-a biomimetic, extracellular matrix (ECM)-like behavior. Furthermore, we explore the progress on the use of adhesive sequences and growth factors and their combinatorial applications with emerging synergistic results and novel biological outcomes. Likewise, as force and shape establish themselves as fair opponents to classical biochemical cues, [9,10] we review the recent progress in manipulating stiffness and topography within 3D natural materials and how they can further boost cellular responses.The engineering of fully functional, biological-like tissues requires biomaterials to direct cellular events to a near-native, 3D niche extent. Natural biomaterials are generally seen as a safe option for cell support, but their biocompatibility and biodegradability can be just as limited as their bioactive/ biomimetic performance. Furthermore, integrating different biomaterial cues and their final impact on cellular behavior is a complex equation where the outcome might be very different from the sum of individual parts. This review critically analyses recent progress on biomaterial-indu...

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“…To illustrate the scenario where the cancer model's complexity highly influences the response to cancer treatment, the cancer cell viability of different cancer‐on‐a‐fiber architectures was evaluated upon doxorubicin treatment. [ 43 ] The results showed that fibroblasts in the fiber model increased cancer cell viability compared to melanoma cells monoculture, [ 43,44 ] and that the doxorubicin resistance in cancer cells is more evident when a basement membrane spatially separates those two cultures. These findings emphasize the role of architecture in accurately predicting tissue response to drugs.…”

Section: Light‐driven Recreation Of Cancer‐like Microenvironments: Fr...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Shining a Light on Cancer—Photonics in Microfluidic Tumor Modeling and Biosensing

Guimarães

Cruz‐Moreira

Caballero

et al. 2022

Adv Healthcare Materials

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Microfluidic platforms represent a powerful approach to miniaturizing important characteristics of cancers, improving in vitro testing by increasing physiological relevance. Different tools can manipulate cells and materials at the microscale, but few offer the efficiency and versatility of light and optical technologies. Moreover, light‐driven technologies englobe a broad toolbox for quantifying critical biological phenomena. Herein, the role of photonics in microfluidic 3D cancer modeling and biosensing from three major perspectives is reviewed. First, optical‐driven technologies are looked upon, as these allow biomaterials and living cells to be manipulated with microsized precision and present opportunities to advance 3D microfluidic models by engineering cancer microenvironments' hallmarks, such as their architecture, cellular complexity, and vascularization. Second, the growing field of optofluidics is discussed, exploring how optical tools can directly interface microfluidic chips, enabling the extraction of relevant biological data, from single fluorescent signals to the complete 3D imaging of diseased cells within microchannels. Third, advances in optical cancer biosensing are reviewed, focusing on how light–matter interactions can detect biomarkers, rare circulating tumor cells, and cell‐derived structures such as exosomes. Photonic technologies' current challenges and caveats in microfluidic 3D cancer models are overviewed, outlining future research avenues that may catapult the field.

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3D flow-focusing microfluidic biofabrication: One-chip-fits-all hydrogel fiber architectures

Cited by 17 publications

References 43 publications

Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering: Addressing Key Design Needs Toward Clinical Translation

Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering: Addressing Key Design Needs Toward Clinical Translation

Pushing the Natural Frontier: Progress on the Integration of Biomaterial Cues toward Combinatorial Biofabrication and Tissue Engineering

Shining a Light on Cancer—Photonics in Microfluidic Tumor Modeling and Biosensing

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