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Rojek K, Ćwiklińska M, Kuczak J, Guzowski J. Microfluidic Formulation of Topological Hydrogels for Microtissue Engineering. Chem Rev 2022; 122:16839-16909. [PMID: 36108106 PMCID: PMC9706502 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Microfluidics has recently emerged as a powerful tool in generation of submillimeter-sized cell aggregates capable of performing tissue-specific functions, so-called microtissues, for applications in drug testing, regenerative medicine, and cell therapies. In this work, we review the most recent advances in the field, with particular focus on the formulation of cell-encapsulating microgels of small "dimensionalities": "0D" (particles), "1D" (fibers), "2D" (sheets), etc., and with nontrivial internal topologies, typically consisting of multiple compartments loaded with different types of cells and/or biopolymers. Such structures, which we refer to as topological hydrogels or topological microgels (examples including core-shell or Janus microbeads and microfibers, hollow or porous microstructures, or granular hydrogels) can be precisely tailored with high reproducibility and throughput by using microfluidics and used to provide controlled "initial conditions" for cell proliferation and maturation into functional tissue-like microstructures. Microfluidic methods of formulation of topological biomaterials have enabled significant progress in engineering of miniature tissues and organs, such as pancreas, liver, muscle, bone, heart, neural tissue, or vasculature, as well as in fabrication of tailored microenvironments for stem-cell expansion and differentiation, or in cancer modeling, including generation of vascularized tumors for personalized drug testing. We review the available microfluidic fabrication methods by exploiting various cross-linking mechanisms and various routes toward compartmentalization and critically discuss the available tissue-specific applications. Finally, we list the remaining challenges such as simplification of the microfluidic workflow for its widespread use in biomedical research, bench-to-bedside transition including production upscaling, further in vivo validation, generation of more precise organ-like models, as well as incorporation of induced pluripotent stem cells as a step toward clinical applications.
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Sabel-Grau T, Tyushina A, Babalik C, Lensen MC. UV-VIS Curable PEG Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications with Multifunctionality. Gels 2022; 8:gels8030164. [PMID: 35323277 PMCID: PMC8956119 DOI: 10.3390/gels8030164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Revised: 02/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Multifunctional biomedical materials capable of integrating optical functions are highly desirable for many applications, such as advanced intra-ocular lens (IOL) implants. Therefore, poly(ethylene glycol)-diacrylate (PEG-DA) hydrogels are used with different photoinitiators (PI). In addition to standard UV PI Irgacure, Erythrosin B and Eosin Y are used as PI with high sensitivity in the optical range of the spectrum. The minimum PI concentrations for producing new hydrogels with PEG-DA and different PIs were determined. Hydrogel films were obtained, which were applicable for light-based patterning and, hence, the functionalization of surface and volume. Cytotoxicity tests confirm cytocompatibility of hydrogels and compositions. Exploiting the correlation of structure and function allows biomedical materials with multifunctionality.
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Cui L, Yao Y, Yim EKF. The effects of surface topography modification on hydrogel properties. APL Bioeng 2021; 5:031509. [PMID: 34368603 PMCID: PMC8318605 DOI: 10.1063/5.0046076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Hydrogel has been an attractive biomaterial for tissue engineering, drug delivery, wound healing, and contact lens materials, due to its outstanding properties, including high water content, transparency, biocompatibility, tissue mechanical matching, and low toxicity. As hydrogel commonly possesses high surface hydrophilicity, chemical modifications have been applied to achieve the optimal surface properties to improve the performance of hydrogels for specific applications. Ideally, the effects of surface modifications would be stable, and the modification would not affect the inherent hydrogel properties. In recent years, a new type of surface modification has been discovered to be able to alter hydrogel properties by physically patterning the hydrogel surfaces with topographies. Such physical patterning methods can also affect hydrogel surface chemical properties, such as protein adsorption, microbial adhesion, and cell response. This review will first summarize the works on developing hydrogel surface patterning methods. The influence of surface topography on interfacial energy and the subsequent effects on protein adsorption, microbial, and cell interactions with patterned hydrogel, with specific examples in biomedical applications, will be discussed. Finally, current problems and future challenges on topographical modification of hydrogels will also be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linan Cui
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Yuan Yao
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
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An R, Dong Y, Zhu J, Rao C. Adhesion and friction forces in biofouling attachments to nanotube- and PEG- patterned TiO2 surfaces. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2017; 159:108-117. [DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2017.07.067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2017] [Revised: 07/25/2017] [Accepted: 07/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Sinha R, Verdonschot N, Koopman B, Rouwkema J. Tuning Cell and Tissue Development by Combining Multiple Mechanical Signals. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART B-REVIEWS 2017; 23:494-504. [DOI: 10.1089/ten.teb.2016.0500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ravi Sinha
- Department of Biomechanical Engineering, MIRA Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Nico Verdonschot
- Department of Biomechanical Engineering, MIRA Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands
- Orthopaedic Research Lab, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Bart Koopman
- Department of Biomechanical Engineering, MIRA Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Jeroen Rouwkema
- Department of Biomechanical Engineering, MIRA Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands
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Raczkowska J, Awsiuk K, Prauzner-Bechcicki S, Pabijan J, Zemła J, Budkowski A, Lekka M. Patterning of cancerous cells driven by a combined modification of mechanical and chemical properties of the substrate. Eur Polym J 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2017.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
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Response of bone marrow derived connective tissue progenitor cell morphology and proliferation on geometrically modulated microtextured substrates. Biomed Microdevices 2014; 15:385-96. [PMID: 23378044 DOI: 10.1007/s10544-012-9727-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Varying geometry and layout of microposts on a cell culture substrate provides an effective technique for applying mechanical stimuli to living cells. In the current study, the optimal geometry and arrangement of microposts on the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces to enhance cell growth behavior were investigated. Human bone marrow derived connective tissue progenitor cells were cultured on PDMS substrates comprising unpatterned smooth surfaces and cylindrical post microtextures that were 10 μm in diameter, 4 heights (5, 10, 20 and 40 μm) and 3 pitches (10, 20, and 40 μm). With the same 10 μm diameter, post heights ranging from 5 to 40 μm resulted in a more than 535 fold range of rigidity from 0.011 nNμm⁻¹ (40 μm height) up to 5.888 nNμm⁻¹(5 μm height). Even though shorter microposts result in higher effective stiffness, decreasing post heights below the optimal value, 5 μm height micropost in this study decreased cell growth behavior. The maximum number of cells was observed on the post microtextures with 20 μm height and 10 μm inter-space, which exhibited a 675 % increase relative to the smooth surfaces. The cells on all heights of post microtextures with 10 μm and 20 μm inter-spaces exhibited highly contoured morphology. Elucidating the cellular response to various external geometry cues enables us to better predict and control cellular behavior. In addition, knowledge of cell response to surface stimuli could lead to the incorporation of specific size post microtextures into surfaces of implants to achieve surface-textured scaffold materials for tissue engineering applications.
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Kelleher SM, Zhang Z, Löbus A, Strehmel C, Lensen MC. Blending PEG-based polymers and their use in surface micro-patterning by the FIMIC method to obtain topographically smooth patterns of elasticity. Biomater Sci 2014; 2:410-418. [DOI: 10.1039/c3bm60218d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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Platzman I, Muth CA, Lee-Thedieck C, Pallarola D, Atanasova R, Louban I, Altrock E, Spatz JP. Surface Properties of Nanostructured Bio-Active Interfaces: Impacts of Surface Stiffness and Topography on Cell-Surface Interactions. RSC Adv 2013; 3:13293-13303. [PMID: 33791090 PMCID: PMC8009309 DOI: 10.1039/c3ra41579a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Due to their ability to confer key functions of the native extracellular matrix (ECM) poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based and PEG-modified materials have been extensively used as biocompatible and biofunctionalized substrate systems to study the influence of environmental parameters on cell adhesion in vitro. Given wide-ranging recent evidence that ECM compliance influences a variety of cell functions, the detailed determination and characterization of the specific PEG surface characteristics including topography, stiffness and chemistry is required. Here, we studied two frequently used bio-active interfaces - PEG-based and PEG-modified surfaces - to elucidate the differences between the physical surface properties, which cells can sense and respond to. For this purpose, two sets of surfaces were synthesized: the first set consisted of nanopatterned glass surfaces containing cRGD-functionalized gold nanoparticles surrounded by a passivated PEG-silane layer and the second set consisted of PEG-diacrylate (PEG-DA) hydrogels decorated with cRGD-functionalized gold nanoparticlesAlthough the two sets of nanostructured materials compared here were highly similar in terms of density and geometrical distribution of the presented bio-ligands as well as in terms of mechanical bulk properties, the topography and mechanical properties of the surfaces were found to be substantially different and are described in detail. In comparison to very stiff and ultrasmooth surface properties of the PEG-passivated glasses, the mechanical properties of PEG-DA surfaces in the biologically relevant stiffness range, together with the increased surface roughness at micro- and nanoscale levels have the potential to affect cell behavior. This potential was verified by studying the adhesive behavior of hematopoietic KG-1a and rat embryonic fibroblast (REF52) cells on both surfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilia Platzman
- Department of New Materials and Biosystems, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems Heisenbergstr. 3, Stuttgart 70569, Germany & Department of Biophysical Chemistry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg 69120, Germany
| | - Christine Anna Muth
- Department of New Materials and Biosystems, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems Heisenbergstr. 3, Stuttgart 70569, Germany & Department of Biophysical Chemistry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg 69120, Germany
| | - Cornelia Lee-Thedieck
- Department of New Materials and Biosystems, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems Heisenbergstr. 3, Stuttgart 70569, Germany & Department of Biophysical Chemistry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg 69120, Germany
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute of Functional Interfaces, Hermann-von Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Diego Pallarola
- Department of New Materials and Biosystems, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems Heisenbergstr. 3, Stuttgart 70569, Germany & Department of Biophysical Chemistry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg 69120, Germany
| | - Ralitsa Atanasova
- Department of New Materials and Biosystems, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems Heisenbergstr. 3, Stuttgart 70569, Germany & Department of Biophysical Chemistry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg 69120, Germany
| | - Ilia Louban
- Department of New Materials and Biosystems, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems Heisenbergstr. 3, Stuttgart 70569, Germany & Department of Biophysical Chemistry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg 69120, Germany
| | - Eva Altrock
- Department of New Materials and Biosystems, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems Heisenbergstr. 3, Stuttgart 70569, Germany & Department of Biophysical Chemistry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg 69120, Germany
| | - Joachim P Spatz
- Department of New Materials and Biosystems, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems Heisenbergstr. 3, Stuttgart 70569, Germany & Department of Biophysical Chemistry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg 69120, Germany
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Differential regulation of stiffness, topography, and dimension of substrates in rat mesenchymal stem cells. Biomaterials 2013; 34:7616-25. [PMID: 23863454 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2013.06.059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2013] [Accepted: 06/26/2013] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The physiological microenvironment of the stem cell niche, including the three factors of stiffness, topography, and dimension, is crucial to stem cell proliferation and differentiation. Although a growing body of evidence is present to elucidate the importance of these factors individually, the interaction of the biophysical parameters of the factors remains insufficiently characterized, particularly for stem cells. To address this issue fully, we applied a micro-fabricated polyacrylamide hydrogel substrate with two elasticities, two topographies, and three dimensions to systematically test proliferation, morphology and spreading, differentiation, and cytoskeletal re-organization of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (rBMSCs) on twelve cases. An isolated but not combinatory impact of the factors was found regarding the specific functions. Substrate stiffness or dimension is predominant in regulating cell proliferation by fostering cell growth on stiff, unevenly dimensioned substrate. Topography is a key factor for manipulating cell morphology and spreading via the formation of a large spherical shape in a pillar substrate but not in a grooved substrate. Although stiffness leads to osteogenic or neuronal differentiation of rBMSCs on a stiff or soft substrate, respectively, topography or dimension also plays a lesser role in directing cell differentiation. Neither an isolated effect nor a combinatory effect was found for actin or tubulin expression, whereas a seemingly combinatory effect of topography and dimension was found in manipulating vimentin expression. These results further the understandings of stem cell proliferation, morphology, and differentiation in a physiologically mimicking microenvironment.
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Particle-collision and porogen-leaching technique to fabricate polymeric porous scaffolds with microscale roughness of interior surfaces. CHINESE JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s10118-013-1264-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Al-Haque S, Miklas JW, Feric N, Chiu LLY, Chen WLK, Simmons CA, Radisic M. Hydrogel substrate stiffness and topography interact to induce contact guidance in cardiac fibroblasts. Macromol Biosci 2012; 12:1342-53. [PMID: 22927323 DOI: 10.1002/mabi.201200042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2012] [Revised: 04/27/2012] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies demonstrated the importance of substrate stiffness and topography on the phenotype of many different cell types including fibroblasts. Yet the interaction of these two physical parameters remains insufficiently characterized, in particular for cardiac fibroblasts. Most studies focusing on contact guidance use rigid patterned substrates. It is not known how the ability of cardiac fibroblasts to follow grooves and ridges changes as the substrate stiffness is decreased to match the range of stiffness found in native heart tissues. This report demonstrates a significant interactive effect of substrate stiffness and topography on cardiac fibroblast elongation and orientation using polyacrylamide substrates of different stiffness and topography.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shahed Al-Haque
- Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, 164 College St, M5S 3G9 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Schulte VA, Diez M, Möller M, Lensen MC. Topography-induced cell adhesion to Acr-sP(EO-stat-PO) hydrogels: the role of protein adsorption. Macromol Biosci 2011; 11:1378-86. [PMID: 21786421 DOI: 10.1002/mabi.201100087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2011] [Revised: 05/13/2011] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Topographic surface patterning of intrinsically non-adhesive P(EO-stat-PO)-based hydrogels can lead to the adhesion and spreading of fibroblasts. Explanations for this unexpected behavior are discussed, particularly with regard to non-specific protein adsorption from the serum-supplemented culture medium. The presence of serum proteins is shown to be essential for adhesion. Adsorption of plasma and ECM proteins (Fibronectin (FN) and Vitronectin (VN)) to the hydrogels is possible. The effect of VN on initial cell adhesion is analyzed in detail. It appears that VN is the main serum component that is crucial for initial cell adhesion to PEG and that surface topography is essential for further, durable adhesion establishment, and spreading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vera A Schulte
- DWI e.V., Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen, D-52056 Aachen, Germany
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