Microfluidic preparation, shrinkage, and surface modification of monodispersed alginate microbeads for 3D cell culture

Abstract

Cell-size alginate microbeads for 3D cell culture were prepared by microfluidic emulsification and controlled shrinkage, followed by nanofilm modification.

A decade of developing applications exploiting the properties of polyelectrolyte multilayer capsules

“…41,42 Studies combining microfluidic based LbL technologies have also gained numerous interests recently. [43][44][45][46] 2.1.2. Composition of LbL layers.…”

Microfluidic-prepared, monodisperse, X-ray-visible, embolic microspheres for non-oncological embolization applications

“…This effect is likely to be exacerbated when preparing smaller microbeads, which necessitate the use of smaller channels One way to address this might be to prepare large alginate droplets with low BaSO 4 content, that are then shrunken down to achieve the desired size and BaSO 4 content. 28,29 This approach can be used in conjunction with our device, and has the added advantage of preventing clogging of much smaller microchannels by BaSO 4 crystals, which will lead to device failure.…”

“…[20][21][22][23][24] The use of microfluidics to prepare alginate particles on the order of tens of microns with a narrow size distribution had been previously demonstrated. [25][26][27][28][29] The simplest method is to rapidly crosslink the droplets by introducing them into a divalent cation solution (e.g. Ca 2+ or Ba 2+ ) as they exit the microfluidic device, 30,31 which tends to yield inhomogeneous and misshaped beads.…”

Trends in Droplet Microfluidics: From Droplet Generation to Biomedical Applications

“…This can also be achieved by surface modification of the microgels. Through layer-by-layer assembly 67 or Pickering emulsion, 68 a variety of biomolecules can be deposited onto the surfaces of microgels and can enhance the desired biological functionality such as cell adhesiveness.…”