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Modular and Customized Fabrication of 3D Functional Microgels for Bottom‐Up Tissue Engineering and Drug Screening
Author(s) -
Yang Wenguang,
Cai Shuxiang,
Chen Yibao,
Liang Wenfeng,
Lai Youbin,
Yu Haibo,
Wang Yuechao,
Liu Lianqing
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
advanced materials technologies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.184
H-Index - 42
ISSN - 2365-709X
DOI - 10.1002/admt.201900847
Subject(s) - microfluidics , modular design , nanotechnology , fabrication , materials science , 3d printing , tissue engineering , drug delivery , lithography , process (computing) , computer science , biomedical engineering , engineering , optoelectronics , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , composite material , operating system
Abstract Customized generation of 3D functional building blocks is crucial for bottom‐up tissue engineering. Currently, high throughput production, high survival rates, and well‐controlled shapes are considered as three major challenges in fabricating microgels. Here, an optofluidic maskless lithography system that combines digital micromirror device based 3D printing and microfluidic technologies for fabricating 3D functional microgels, is presented. With this system, 3D microgels can be custom designed online and manufactured modularly in a microfluidic device. The fabrication process is based on shadowed light, highly flexible, and requires no physical masks. Furthermore, cells in microgels exhibit features that are more similar to the complex in vivo conditions, including morphology, proliferation, and drug resistance.