Abstract

Biomimetic characteristics of hydrogel scaffold are tuned in this study utilizing the synergy of alginate, gelatin, and microfluidically embedded voids. Superposition of alginate and gelatin polymer networks results in additional rigidity, which can be tuned by introduction of voids, and thereby allowing faster release of pore pressure through movement of aqueous phase through the pore network. More importantly, voids enabled the cells to penetrate from the surface of seeding into the depth of the scaffold and proliferate there, as demonstrated for MDA MB 231 breast cancer cells. The uniform voids, generated by the microfluidic device, self-align creating uniform macroporosity within the gel structure, get readily filled by the media due to hydrophilicity, and extend the characteristics of composite uniformly across the entire scaffold.

摘要

本研究利用藻酸盐、明胶和微流体嵌入空隙的协同作用调整了水凝胶支架的仿生特性。藻酸盐和明胶聚合物网络的叠加会产生额外的刚度，这可以通过引入空隙来调节，从而通过水相通过孔隙网络的运动来更快地释放孔隙压力。更重要的是，正如 MDA MB 231 乳腺癌细胞所证明的那样，空隙使细胞能够从接种表面渗透到支架的深处并在那里增殖。由微流体装置产生的均匀空隙自对齐，在凝胶结构内产生均匀的大孔，由于亲水性而容易被介质填充，并在整个支架上均匀地扩展复合材料的特性。