Microfluidic generation of microgels as a 3D cell culture platform

Abstract

Microfluidic flow-focusing devices are widely used to generate emulsion particles (‘droplets’), having various sizes and shapes. The aqueous droplets containing gel precursors can be crosslinked afterwards to generate microgels. This microfluidic technology is useful for generating 3D cell-laden microgels as implantable and injectable microtissues, as well as in vitro models to analyze cell behavior. This presentation first introduces a strategy to minimize the cytotoxicity during the microfluidic microgel generation, mostly due to the contact with oil phase, by modulating the microfluidic channel geometry. Then, several examples of utilizing technology to generate microgels laden with different types of cells, including macrophages and breast cancer cells, are presented. Specifically, the effect of mechanical properties of microgels on cell phenotypes are explored.