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Thompson GB, Gilchrist AE, Lam VM, Nunes AC, Payan BA, Mora-Boza A, Serrano JF, García AJ, Harley BAC. Gelatin maleimide microgels for hematopoietic progenitor cell encapsulation. J Biomed Mater Res A 2024. [PMID: 38894666 DOI: 10.1002/jbm.a.37765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2024] [Revised: 06/05/2024] [Accepted: 06/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are the apical cells of the hematopoietic system, giving rise to cells of the blood and lymph lineages. HSCs reside primarily within bone marrow niches that contain matrix and cell-derived signals that help inform stem cell fate. Aspects of the bone marrow microenvironment have been captured in vitro by encapsulating cells within hydrogel matrices that mimic native mechanical and biochemical properties. Hydrogel microparticles, or microgels, are increasingly being used to assemble granular biomaterials for cell culture and noninvasive delivery applications. Here, we report the optimization of a gelatin maleimide hydrogel system to create monodisperse gelatin microgels via a flow-focusing microfluidic process. We report characteristic hydrogel stiffness, stability, and swelling characteristics as well as encapsulation of murine hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, and mesenchymal stem cells within microgels. Microgels support cell viability, confirming compatibility of the microfluidic encapsulation process with these sensitive bone marrow cell populations. Overall, this work presents a microgel-based gelatin maleimide hydrogel as a foundation for future development of a multicellular artificial bone marrow culture system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gunnar B Thompson
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Aidan E Gilchrist
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Davis, USA
| | - Vincent M Lam
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Alison C Nunes
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Brittany A Payan
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Ana Mora-Boza
- Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering & Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Julio F Serrano
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Andrés J García
- Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering & Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- George Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Brendan A C Harley
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
- Cancer Center at Illinois, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
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2
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Mehraji S, Saadatmand M, Eskandari M. Production of letrozole-loaded alginate oxide-gelatin microgels using microfluidic systems for drug delivery applications. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 263:129685. [PMID: 38394762 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.129685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/21/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Microfluidic systems are capable of producing microgels with a monodisperse size distribution and a spherical shape due to their laminar flow and superior flow. A significant challenge in producing these drug-carrying microgels is simultaneous drug loading into microgels. Various factors such as the type of polymer, the type of drug, the volume ratio of the drug to the polymer, and the geometry of the microfluidic system used to generate microgels can effectively address these challenges. The overall goal of this study was to produce mono-disperse drug-carrying microgels capable of controlled drug release. To achieve this goal, this study used a stream-focused microfluidic chip containing a coating current to prevent chip clogging. Alginate oxide was synthesized with a 30 % oxidation percentage. Alginate oxide, gelatin, and compositions of them with volume ratios of 50-50, 70-30, and 30-70, by determining their appropriate weight percentage, were used for the controlled release of letrozole. The properties of the produced microgels were measured through various tests such as drug release test, loading percentage, SEM, FTIR, swelling ratio, and dimensional stability. It was found that microgels made of a combination of alginate oxide-gelatin with volume ratios of 70-30 had a good swelling ratio and structural stability. The drug loading percentages for alginate, alginate oxide, and alginate oxide-gelatin with volume ratios of 50-50 and 30-70, respectively, were 56 %, 68 %, and 66 %, 61 % and the alginate oxide-gelatin with a volume ratio of 70-30 compared to other samples had over 70 % drug loading percentages. Furthermore, samples of alginate, alginate oxide, and alginate oxide-gelatin with volume ratios of 50-50 and 30-70 had 94 %, 63 %, 56 %, and 68 % drug release in 13 days, respectively. However, alginate oxide-gelatin with a volume ratio of 70-30 had a release rate of about 50 % in 13 days, which is a more controlled release for letrozole compared to the volume ratios of 50-50 and 30-70. Examining the drug release profile, it was concluded that drug release follows the Higuchi model and therefore follows Fick's first law of diffusion. It can be concluded that the combination of alginate oxide-gelatin produces more suitable microgels than alginate and alginate oxide for the controlled-release of letrozole. A comparison of microgels of alginate oxide and gelatin with volume ratios of 50-50 and 70-30 had better results for the cytotoxicity study compared to other samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sima Mehraji
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
| | - Maryam Saadatmand
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Mahnaz Eskandari
- Biomedical Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic University), Tehran, Iran.
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3
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Surman F, Asadikorayem M, Weber P, Weber D, Zenobi-Wong M. Ionically annealed zwitterionic microgels for bioprinting of cartilaginous constructs. Biofabrication 2024; 16:025004. [PMID: 38176081 DOI: 10.1088/1758-5090/ad1b1f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
Foreign body response (FBR) is a pervasive problem for biomaterials used in tissue engineering. Zwitterionic hydrogels have emerged as an effective solution to this problem, due to their ultra-low fouling properties, which enable them to effectively inhibit FBRin vivo. However, no versatile zwitterionic bioink that allows for high resolution extrusion bioprinting of tissue implants has thus far been reported. In this work, we introduce a simple, novel method for producing zwitterionic microgel bioink, using alginate methacrylate (AlgMA) as crosslinker and mechanical fragmentation as a microgel fabrication method. Photocrosslinked hydrogels made of zwitterionic carboxybetaine acrylamide (CBAA) and sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA) are mechanically fragmented through meshes with aperture diameters of 50 and 90µm to produce microgel bioink. The bioinks made with both microgel sizes showed excellent rheological properties and were used for high-resolution printing of objects with overhanging features without requiring a support structure or support bath. The AlgMA crosslinker has a dual role, allowing for both primary photocrosslinking of the bulk hydrogel as well as secondary ionic crosslinking of produced microgels, to quickly stabilize the printed construct in a calcium bath and to produce a microporous scaffold. Scaffolds showed ∼20% porosity, and they supported viability and chondrogenesis of encapsulated human primary chondrocytes. Finally, a meniscus model was bioprinted, to demonstrate the bioink's versatility at printing large, cell-laden constructs which are stable for furtherin vitroculture to promote cartilaginous tissue production. This easy and scalable strategy of producing zwitterionic microgel bioink for high resolution extrusion bioprinting allows for direct cell encapsulation in a microporous scaffold and has potential forin vivobiocompatibility due to the zwitterionic nature of the bioink.
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Affiliation(s)
- František Surman
- Tissue Engineering + Biofabrication Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Maryam Asadikorayem
- Tissue Engineering + Biofabrication Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Patrick Weber
- Tissue Engineering + Biofabrication Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Weber
- Division of Hand Surgery, University Children's Hospital, 8032 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Marcy Zenobi-Wong
- Tissue Engineering + Biofabrication Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
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4
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Khorrami Jahromi A, Siavash Moakhar R, Yedire SG, Shieh H, Rosenflanz K, Birks A, de Vries J, Lu Y, Shafique H, Strauss J, Mahshid S. Additively manufactured multiplexed electrochemical device (AMMED) for portable sample-to-answer detection. LAB ON A CHIP 2023; 23:5107-5119. [PMID: 37921001 DOI: 10.1039/d3lc00314k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
Portable sample-to-answer devices with applications in point-of-care settings have emerged to obviate the necessity of centralized laboratories for biomarker analysis. In this work, a smartphone-operated and additively manufactured multiplexed electrochemical device (AMMED) is presented for the portable detection of biomarkers in blood and saliva. AMMED is comprised of a customized portable potentiostat with a multiplexing feature, a 3D-printed sample collection cartridge to handle three samples of saliva and blood at the same time, a smartphone application to remotely control the potentiostat, and a 3D-printed-based multiplexed microfluidic electrochemical biosensor (test chip). Here, by employing additive manufacturing techniques, a simple, cleanroom-free, and scalable approach was proposed for the fabrication of the test chip. Moreover, these techniques can bring about easy integration of AMMED components. Additionally, the test chip can be compatible with different affinity-based bioassays which can be implemented in a multiplexed manner for detection. The AMMED components were successfully characterized in terms of electrochemical and fluidic performance. Particularly, to demonstrate the biosensing capabilities of the device, the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant and a well-established aptameric assay were selected as the representative biomarker and the bioassay, respectively. The proposed device accurately and selectively detected the target of interest in a rapid (5 min) and multiplex manner with a dynamic detection range of 1-10 000 pg ml-1 in different media, and the clinical feasibility was assessed by several saliva patient samples. AMMED offers a versatile sample-to-answer platform that can be used for the detection of various biomarkers present in biofluids.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Hamed Shieh
- Department of Bioengineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 0E9, Canada.
| | - Katerina Rosenflanz
- Department of Bioengineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 0E9, Canada.
| | - Amber Birks
- Department of Bioengineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 0E9, Canada.
| | - Justin de Vries
- Department of Bioengineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 0E9, Canada.
| | - Yao Lu
- Department of Bioengineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 0E9, Canada.
| | - Houda Shafique
- Department of Bioengineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 0E9, Canada.
| | - Julia Strauss
- Department of Bioengineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 0E9, Canada.
| | - Sara Mahshid
- Department of Bioengineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 0E9, Canada.
- Department of Experimental Medicine, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, H3G 2M1, Canada
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5
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Siavash Moakhar R, Mahimkar R, Khorrami Jahromi A, Mahshid SS, Del Real Mata C, Lu Y, Vasquez Camargo F, Dixon B, Gilleard J, J Da Silva A, Ndao M, Mahshid S. Aptamer-Based Electrochemical Microfluidic Biosensor for the Detection of Cryptosporidium parvum. ACS Sens 2023; 8:2149-2158. [PMID: 37207303 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.2c01349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Cryptosporidium parvum is a high-risk and opportunistic waterborne parasitic pathogen with highly infectious oocysts that can survive harsh environmental conditions for long periods. Current state-of-the-art methods are limited to lengthy imaging and antibody-based detection techniques that are slow, labor-intensive, and demand trained personnel. Therefore, the development of new sensing platforms for rapid and accurate identification at the point-of-care (POC) is essential to improve public health. Herein, we propose a novel electrochemical microfluidic aptasensor based on hierarchical 3D gold nano-/microislands (NMIs), functionalized with aptamers specific to C. parvum. We used aptamers as robust synthetic biorecognition elements with a remarkable ability to bind and discriminate among molecules to develop a highly selective biosensor. Also, the 3D gold NMIs feature a large active surface area that provides high sensitivity and a low limit of detection (LOD), especially when they are combined with aptamers,. The performance of the NMI aptasensor was assessed by testing the biosensor's ability to detect different concentrations of C. parvum oocysts spiked in different sample matrices, i.e., buffer, tap water, and stool, within 40 min detection time. The electrochemical measurements showed an acceptable LOD of 5 oocysts mL-1 in buffer medium, as well as 10 oocysts mL-1 in stool and tap water media, over a wide linear range of 10-100,000 oocysts mL-1. Moreover, the NMI aptasensor recognized C. parvum oocysts with high selectivity while exhibiting no significant cross-reactivity to other related coccidian parasites. The specific feasibility of the aptasensor was further demonstrated by the detection of the target C. parvum in patient stool samples. Our assay showed coherent results with microscopy and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, achieving high sensitivity and specificity with a significant signal difference (p < 0.001). Therefore, the proposed microfluidic electrochemical biosensor platform could be a stepping stone for the development of rapid and accurate detection of parasites at the POC.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rohan Mahimkar
- Infectious Diseases and Immunity in Global Health (IDIGH), Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec H4A 3J1, Canada
- National Reference Centre for Parasitology, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center, Montreal, Quebec H4A 3J1, Canada
| | | | - Sahar Sadat Mahshid
- Biological Sciences, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5, Canada
| | | | - Yao Lu
- Department of Bioengineering, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0E9, Canada
| | - Fabio Vasquez Camargo
- National Reference Centre for Parasitology, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center, Montreal, Quebec H4A 3J1, Canada
| | - Brent Dixon
- Bureau of Microbial Hazards, Food Directorate, Health Canada, 251 Sir Frederick Banting Driveway, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9, Canada
| | - John Gilleard
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1 N4, Canada
| | - Alexandre J Da Silva
- US FDA-Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, College Park, Maryland 20740, United States
| | - Momar Ndao
- National Reference Centre for Parasitology, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center, Montreal, Quebec H4A 3J1, Canada
- Department of Experimental Medicine, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec H3G 2M1, Canada
| | - Sara Mahshid
- Department of Bioengineering, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0E9, Canada
- Department of Experimental Medicine, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec H3G 2M1, Canada
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6
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Xu Y, Zhu H, Denduluri A, Ou Y, Erkamp NA, Qi R, Shen Y, Knowles TPJ. Recent Advances in Microgels: From Biomolecules to Functionality. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2022; 18:e2200180. [PMID: 35790106 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202200180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The emerging applications of hydrogel materials at different length scales, in areas ranging from sustainability to health, have driven the progress in the design and manufacturing of microgels. Microgels can provide miniaturized, monodisperse, and regulatable compartments, which can be spatially separated or interconnected. These microscopic materials provide novel opportunities for generating biomimetic cell culture environments and are thus key to the advances of modern biomedical research. The evolution of the physical and chemical properties has, furthermore, highlighted the potentials of microgels in the context of materials science and bioengineering. This review describes the recent research progress in the fabrication, characterization, and applications of microgels generated from biomolecular building blocks. A key enabling technology allowing the tailoring of the properties of microgels is their synthesis through microfluidic technologies, and this paper highlights recent advances in these areas and their impact on expanding the physicochemical parameter space accessible using microgels. This review finally discusses the emerging roles that microgels play in liquid-liquid phase separation, micromechanics, biosensors, and regenerative medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yufan Xu
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, UK
| | - Hongjia Zhu
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, UK
| | - Akhila Denduluri
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, UK
| | - Yangteng Ou
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, UK
| | - Nadia A Erkamp
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, UK
| | - Runzhang Qi
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, UK
| | - Yi Shen
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, UK
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
- The University of Sydney Nano Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Tuomas P J Knowles
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, UK
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB3 0HE, UK
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7
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Quantifying Uniform Droplet Formation in Microfluidics Using Variational Mode Decomposition. FLUIDS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/fluids7050174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Using variational mode decomposition, we analyze the signal from velocities at the center of the channel of a microfluidics drop-maker. We simulate the formation of water in oil droplets in a microfluidic device. To compare signals from different drop-makers, we choose the length of the water inlet in one drop-maker to be slightly shorter than the other. This small difference in length leads to the formation of satellite droplets and uncertainty in droplet uniformity in one of the drop-makers. By decomposing the velocity signal into only five intrinsic modes, we can fully separate the oscillatory and noisy parts of the velocity from an underlying average flow at the center of the channel. We show that the fifth intrinsic mode is solely sufficient to identify the uniform droplet formation while the other modes encompass the oscillations and noise. Mono-disperse droplets are formed consistently and as long as the fifth mode is a plateau with a local standard deviation of less than 0.02 for a normalized signal at the channel inlet. Spikes in the fifth mode appear, coinciding with fluctuations in the sizes of droplets. Interestingly, the spikes in the fifth mode indicate non-uniform droplet formation even for the velocities measured upstream in the water inlet in a region far before where droplets form. These results are not sensitive to the spatial resolution of the signal, as we decompose a velocity signal averaged over an area as wide as 40% of the channel width.
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8
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Sattari A, Janfaza S, Mashhadi Keshtiban M, Tasnim N, Hanafizadeh P, Hoorfar M. Microfluidic On-Chip Production of Alginate Hydrogels Using Double Coflow Geometry. ACS OMEGA 2021; 6:25964-25971. [PMID: 34660958 PMCID: PMC8515369 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c02728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 09/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Microfluidic on-chip production of microgels employing external gelation has numerous biological and pharmaceutical applications, particularly for the encapsulation of delicate cargos; however, the on-chip production of microgels in microfluidic devices can be challenging due to problems such as clogging caused by accelerated progress in precursor solution viscosity. Here, we introduce a novel microfluidic design incorporating two consecutive coflow geometries for microfluidic droplet generation. A shielding oil phase is employed to avoid emulsification and gelation stages from occurring simultaneously, thereby preventing clogging. The results revealed that the microfluidic device could generate highly monodispersed spherical droplets (coefficient of variation < 3%) with an average diameter in the range of 60-200 μm. Additionally, it was demonstrated that the device could appropriately create a shelter of the oil phase around the inner aqueous phase regardless of the droplet formation regime and flow conditions. The ability of the proposed microfluidic device in the generation of microgels was validated by producing alginate microgels utilizing an aqueous solution of calcium chloride as the continuous phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amirmohammad Sattari
- School
of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran 16589-53571, Iran
- School
of Engineering, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada
| | - Sajjad Janfaza
- School
of Engineering, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada
- Department
of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Mohsen Mashhadi Keshtiban
- School
of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran 16589-53571, Iran
| | - Nishat Tasnim
- School
of Engineering, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada
| | - Pedram Hanafizadeh
- School
of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran 16589-53571, Iran
- Department
of Mechanical Engineering, University of
California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Mina Hoorfar
- Department
of Mechanical Engineering, University of
Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 3P6, Canada
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9
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Sheth S, Stealey S, Morgan NY, Zustiak SP. Microfluidic Chip Device for In Situ Mixing and Fabrication of Hydrogel Microspheres via Michael-Type Addition. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2021; 37:11793-11803. [PMID: 34597052 PMCID: PMC9447845 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c01739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Hydrogel microspheres are sought for a variety of biomedical applications, including therapeutic and cellular delivery, sensors, and lubricants. Robust fabrication of hydrogel microspheres with uniform sizes and properties can be achieved using microfluidic systems that rely on droplet formation and subsequent gelation to form microspheres. Such systems work well when gelation is initiated after droplet formation but are not practical for timed gelation systems where gelation is initiated prior to droplet formation; premature gelation can lead to device blockage, variable microsphere diameter due to viscosity changes in the precursor solution, and limited numbers of microspheres produced in a single run. To enable microfluidic fabrication of microspheres from timed gelation hydrogel systems, an in situ mixing region is needed so that various hydrogel precursor components can be added separately. Here, we designed and evaluated three mixing devices for their effectiveness at mixing hydrogel precursor solutions prior to droplet formation and subsequent gelation. The serpentine geometry was found to be the most effective and was further improved with the inclusion of a pillar array to increase agitation. The optimized device was shown to fully mix precursor solutions and enable the fabrication of monodisperse polyethylene glycol microspheres, offering great potential for use with timed gelation hydrogel systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saahil Sheth
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA 63103
| | - Samuel Stealey
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA 63103
| | - Nicole Y. Morgan
- Biomedical Engineering and Physical Science Shared Resource, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA 20814
| | - Silviya P. Zustiak
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA 63103
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