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Microdevices: Flexible Fabrication of Shape‐Controlled Collagen Building Blocks for Self‐Assembly of 3D Microtissues (Small 30/2015)
Author(s) -
Zhang Xu,
Meng Zhaoxu,
Ma Jingyun,
Shi Yang,
Xu Hui,
Lykkemark Simon,
Qin Jianhua
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201570182
Subject(s) - tissue engineering , nanotechnology , materials science , fabrication , extracellular matrix , matrix (chemical analysis) , morphogenesis , cell , membrane , biomedical engineering , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , engineering , composite material , biology , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , biochemistry , gene
A straightforward strategy is described on page 3666 for generating shape‐controlled collagen building blocks with well‐defined architectures. The collagen blocks with tunable geometries are simply produced and released by J. Qin and co‐workers via a membrane‐templated microdevice in a controllable manner. The cell‐laden collagen blocks can spontaneously self‐assemble into organized microtissue constructs with pre‐determined configurations, driven by the synergistic effects of cell‐cell and cell‐matrix interactions. This strategy would open up new avenues for the study of tissue/organ morphogenesis, and tissue engineering applications.