Open AccessCell Printing in Complex Hydrogel Scaffolds
Author(s) -
Benjamin Noren,
Rajib K. Shaha,
Alan T. Stenquist,
Carl P. Frick,
John Oakey
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
ieee transactions on nanobioscience
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.62
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1558-2639
pISSN - 1536-1241
DOI - 10.1109/tnb.2019.2905517
Subject(s) - microfabrication , scaffold , materials science , tissue engineering , nanotechnology , self healing hydrogels , viability assay , cell function , composite number , biomedical engineering , computer science , cell , chemistry , fabrication , composite material , polymer chemistry , engineering , biochemistry , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology
Advancements in the microfabrication of soft materials have enabled the creation of increasingly sophisticated functional synthetic tissue structures for a myriad of tissue engineering applications. A challenge facing the field is mimicking the complex microarchitecture necessary to recapitulate proper morphology and function of many endogenous tissue constructs. This paper describes the creation of PEGDA hydrogel microenvironments (microgels) that maintain a high level of viability at single cell patterning scales and can be integrated into composite scaffolds with tunable modulus. PEGDA was stereolithographically patterned using a digital micromirror device to print single cell microgels at progressively decreasing length scales. The effect of feature size on cell viability was assessed and inert gas purging was introduced to preserve viability. A composite PEGDA scaffold created by this technique was mechanically tested and found to enable dynamic adjustability of the modulus. Together this approach advances the ability to microfabricate tissues that better mimic native constructs on cellular and subcellular length scales.