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Digital microfabrication of user-defined 3D microstructures in cell-laden hydrogels.

ABSTRACT: Complex 3D interfacial arrangements of cells are found in several in vivo biosystems such as blood vasculature, renal glomeruli, and intestinal villi. Current tissue engineering techniques fail to develop suitable 3D microenvironments to evaluate the concurrent effects of complex topography and cell encapsulation. There is a need to develop new fabrication approaches that control cell density and distribution within complex 3D features. In this work, we present a dynamic projection printing process that allows rapid construction of complex 3D structures using custom-defined computer-aided-design (CAD) files. Gelatin-methacrylate (GelMA) constructs featuring user-defined spiral, pyramid, flower, and dome micro-geometries were fabricated with and without encapsulated cells. Encapsulated cells demonstrate good cell viability across all geometries both on the scaffold surface and internal to the structures. Cells respond to geometric cues individually as well as collectively throughout the larger-scale patterns. Time-lapse observations also reveal the dynamic nature of mechanical interactions between cells and micro-geometry. When compared to conventional cell-seeding, cell encapsulation within complex 3D patterned scaffolds provides long-term control over proliferation, cell morphology, and geometric guidance. Overall, this biofabrication technique offers a flexible platform to evaluate cell interactions with complex 3D micro-features, with the ability to scale-up towards high-throughput screening platforms.

SUBMITTER: Soman P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3784638 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Digital microfabrication of user-defined 3D microstructures in cell-laden hydrogels.

Soman Pranav P Chung Peter H PH Zhang A Ping AP Chen Shaochen S

Biotechnology and bioengineering 20130603 11

Complex 3D interfacial arrangements of cells are found in several in vivo biosystems such as blood vasculature, renal glomeruli, and intestinal villi. Current tissue engineering techniques fail to develop suitable 3D microenvironments to evaluate the concurrent effects of complex topography and cell encapsulation. There is a need to develop new fabrication approaches that control cell density and distribution within complex 3D features. In this work, we present a dynamic projection printing proc ...[more]

PMID: 23686741

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Project description:There is a growing interest in developing natural hydrogel-based scaffolds to culture cells in a three-dimensional (3D) millieu that better mimics the in vivo cells' microenvironment. A promising approach is to use hydrogels from animal tissues, such as decellularized extracellular matrices; however, they usually exhibit suboptimal mechanical properties compared to native tissue and their composition with hundreds of different protein complicates to elucidate which stimulus triggers cell's responses. As simpler scaffolds, type I collagen hydrogels are used to study cell behavior in mechanobiology even though they are also softer than native tissues. In this work, type I collagen is mixed with bacterial nanocellulose fibers (BCf) to develop reinforced scaffolds with mechanical properties suitable for 3D cell culture. BCf were produced from blended pellicles biosynthesized from Komagataeibacter xylinus. Then, BCf were mixed with concentrated collagen from rat-tail tendons to form composite hydrogels. Confocal laser scanning microscopy and scanning electron microscopy images confirmed the homogeneous macro- and microdistribution of both natural polymers. Porosity analysis confirmed that BCf do not disrupt the scaffold structure. Tensile strength and rheology measurements demonstrated the reinforcement action of BCf (43% increased stiffness) compared to the collagen hydrogel while maintaining the same viscoelastic response. Additionally, this reinforcement of collagen hydrogels with BCf offers the possibility to mix cells before gelation and then proceed to the culture of the 3D cell scaffolds. We obtained scaffolds with human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells or human fibroblasts within the composite hydrogels, allowing a homogeneous 3D viable culture for at least 7 days. A smaller surface shrinkage in the reinforced hydrogels compared to type I collagen hydrogels confirmed the strengthening of the composite hydrogels. These collagen hydrogels reinforced with BCf might emerge as a promising platform for 3D in vitro organ modeling, tissue-engineering applications, and suitable to conduct fundamental mechanobiology studies.

Dataset Information

Digital microfabrication of user-defined 3D microstructures in cell-laden hydrogels.

Publications

Digital microfabrication of user-defined 3D microstructures in cell-laden hydrogels.

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