Effective colloidal emulsion droplet regulation in flow-focusing glass capillary microfluidic device via collection tube variation

Colloidal emulsion droplets, created using glass capillary microfluidic devices, have been found in a myriad of applications, serving as subtle microcarriers, delicate templates, etc. To meet the objective requirements under varying circumstances, it is crucial to efficiently control the morphology and dimensions of the droplets on demand. The glass capillary collection tube is a crucial component of the flow-focusing microfluidic system due to its close association with the geometrical confinement of the multiphasic flow. However, there are currently no guidelines for the design of the morphology and dimensions of the glass capillary collection tube, which shall result in a delay in assessing serviceability until after the microfluidic device is prepared, thereby causing a loss of time and effort. Herein, an experimental study was conducted to investigate the effect of the geometrical characteristics of glass capillary collection tubes on the production of colloidal emulsion droplets. After characterizing the generated colloidal emulsion droplets, it was found that the geometrical variations of the glass capillary collection tube resulted in numerical disparities of droplets due to different degrees of flow-focusing effects. The stronger flow-focusing effect produced smaller droplets at a higher frequency, and the dimensional variation of colloidal emulsion droplets was more responsive to varying flow rates. Furthermore, the transformation from colloidal single-core double-emulsion droplets to multi-core double-emulsion droplets also changed with the flow rate due to the glass capillary collection tube morphology-determined varying flow-focusing effect. These experimental findings can offer qualitative guidance for the design of glass capillary microfluidic devices in the preliminary stage, thus facilitating the smooth production of desired colloidal emulsion droplets.

Chitosan-Based Particulate Carriers: Structure, Production and Corresponding Controlled Release

The state of the art in the use of chitosan (CS) for preparing particulate carriers for drug delivery applications is reviewed. After evidencing the scientific and commercial potentials of CS, the links between targeted controlled activity, the preparation process and the kinetics of release are detailed, focusing on two types of particulate carriers: matrix particles and capsules. More precisely, the relationship between the size/structure of CS-based particles as multifunctional delivery systems and drug release kinetics (models) is emphasized. The preparation method and conditions greatly influence particle structure and size, which affect release properties. Various techniques available for characterizing particle structural properties and size distribution are reviewed. CS particulate carriers with different structures can achieve various release patterns, including zero-order, multi-pulsed, and pulse-triggered. Mathematical models have an unavoidable role in understanding release mechanisms and their interrelationships. Moreover, models help identify the key structural characteristics, thus saving experimental time. Furthermore, by investigating the close relation between preparation process parameters and particulate structural characteristics as well as their effect on release properties, a novel "on-demand" strategy for the design of drug delivery devices may be developed. This reverse strategy involves designing the production process and the related particles' structure based on the targeted release pattern.

Microfluidically fabricated fibers containing pancreatic islets and mesenchymal stromal cells improve longevity and sustained normoglycemia in diabetic rats

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is an autoimmune disease characterized by the loss of pancreatic isletβcells. Insulin injections and pancreas transplants are currently available therapies. The former requires daily insulin injections, while the latter is constrained by donor organ availability. Islet transplantation is a promising alternative treatment for type 1 diabetes mellitus that may overcome the limitations of previous techniques. Two challenges, however, must be addressed: limited cell retention as a result of the immune response and limited function of the transplanted cells that survive. To address these problems, we developed a microfluidic technology for a one-step generation of islet-laden fibers to protect them from the immune response. This approach enables continuous generation of microfibers with a diameter suitable for islet encapsulation (275µm). We, then, transplanted islet-laden fibers into diabetic Wistar rats. While islet-laden fibers alone were unable to restore normoglycemia in diabetic rats, adding mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) restored normoglycemia for an extended time. It increased the animals' lifespan by up to 75 d. Additionally, it improved the glucose-stimulated response of islets to the point where there was no significant difference between the treatment group and the healthy animals. Additionally, the presence of MSCs suppressed the immune response, as seen by decreased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α. Taken together, these fibers including islet and MSCs provide a versatile platform for concurrently improving cell preservation and functioning followingin vivotransplantation.

Microfluidic-assisted fiber production: Potentials, limitations, and prospects

Besides the conventional fiber production methods, microfluidics has emerged as a promising approach for the engineered spinning of fibrous materials and offers excellent potential for fiber manufacturing in a controlled and straightforward manner. This method facilitates low-speed prototype synthesis of fibers for diverse applications while providing superior control over reaction conditions, efficient use of precursor solutions, reagent mixing, and process parameters. This article reviews recent advances in microfluidic technology for the fabrication of fibrous materials with different morphologies and a variety of properties aimed at various applications. First, the basic principles, as well as the latest developments and achievements of microfluidic-based techniques for fiber production, are introduced. Specifically, microfluidic platforms made of glass, polymers, and/or metals, including but not limited to microfluidic chips, capillary-based devices, and three-dimensional printed devices are summarized. Then, fiber production from various materials, such as alginate, gelatin, silk, collagen, and chitosan, using different microfluidic platforms with a broad range of cross-linking agents and mechanisms is described. Therefore, microfluidic spun fibers with diverse diameters ranging from submicrometer scales to hundreds of micrometers and structures, such as cylindrical, hollow, grooved, flat, core-shell, heterogeneous, helical, and peapod-like morphologies, with tunable sizes and mechanical properties are discussed in detail. Subsequently, the practical applications of microfluidic spun fibers are highlighted in sensors for biomedical or optical purposes, scaffolds for culture or encapsulation of cells in tissue engineering, and drug delivery. Finally, different limitations and challenges of the current microfluidic technologies, as well as the future perspectives and concluding remarks, are presented.

Microfluidic Formulation of Topological Hydrogels for Microtissue Engineering

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.

Hollow fibers: from fabrication to applications

Hollow fibers have attracted more and more attention due to their broad range of applications in numerous fields. We review the latest advance and summarize the fabrication methods, types and applications of hollow fibers. We mainly introduce the fabrication methods of hollow fibers, including co-extrusion/co-axial spinning methods, template methods, 3D printing methods, electrospinning methods, self-crimping methods and gas foaming process. Meanwhile, we summarize four types of hollow fibers: one-layered hollow fibers, multi-layered hollow fibers, multi-hollow fibers and branched hollow fibers. Next, we focus on the main applications of hollow fibers, such as gas separation, cell culture, microfluidic channels, artificial tubular tissues, etc. Finally, we present the prospects of the future trend of development. The review would promote the further development of hollow fibers and benefit their advance in sensing, bioreactors, electrochemical catalysis, energy conversion, microfluidics, gas separation, air purification, drug delivery, functional materials, cell culture and tissue engineering. This review has great significance for the design of new functional materials and development of devices and systems in the related fields.

Recent Advances in Microfluidically Spun Microfibers for Tissue Engineering and Drug Delivery Applications

In recent years, the unique and tunable properties of microfluidically spun microfibers have led to tremendous advancements for the field of biomedical engineering, which have been applied to areas such as tissue engineering, wound dressing, and drug delivery, as well as cell encapsulation and cell seeding. In this article, we analyze the most recent advances in microfluidics and microfluidically spun microfibers, with an emphasis on biomedical applications. We explore in detail these new and innovative experiments, how microfibers are made, the experimental purpose of making microfibers, and the future work that can be done as a result of these new types of microfibers. We also focus on the applications of various materials used to fabricate microfibers, as well as their many promises and limitations.

Recent advances in microfluidic-aided chitosan-based multifunctional materials for biomedical applications

Chitosan-based biomaterials has shown great advantages in a broad range of applications, including drug delivery, clinical diagnosis, cell culture and tissue engineering. However, due to the lack of control over the fabrication processes by conventional techniques, the wide application of chitosan-based biomaterials has been hampered. Recently, microfluidics has been demonstrated as one of the most promising platforms to fabricate high-performance chitosan-based multifunctional materials with monodisperse size distribution and accurately controlled morphology and microstructures, which show great promising for biomedical applications. Here, we review recent progress of the fabrication of chitosan-based biomaterials with different structures and integrated functions by microfluidic technology. A comprehensive and in-depth depiction of critical microfluidic formation mechanism and process of various chitosan-based materials are first interpreted, with particular descriptions about the microfluidic-mediated control over the morphology and microstructures. Afterwards, recently emerging representative applications of chitosan-based multifunctional materials in various fields, are systematically summarized. Finally, the conclusions and perspectives on further advancing the microfluidic-aided chitosan-based multifunctional materials toward potential and versatile development for fundamental researches and biomedicine are proposed.

Controllable microfluidic fabrication of microstructured functional materials

Microstructured functional materials such as microfibers and microparticles are widely used for a myriad of applications. Precise manipulation of the functional components and structure is important for the microstructured functional materials to achieve desired functions for advanced application. This review highlights the recent progress on the controllable microfluidic fabrication of microstructured functional materials from liquid templates. First, microfluidic strategies for controllable generation of liquid templates including laminar jets and emulsion droplets are introduced. Then, strategies for fabricating microfibers and microparticles with diverse structures and advanced functions from the liquid templates are highlighted. These strategies mainly focus on precisely engineering the functional components and microstructures of the microfibers and microparticles by tailoring those of their liquid templates to achieve desired advanced functions. Finally, future development of microfluidic techniques for industrial-scale production of the microstructured functional materials is discussed.

Advances in Functional Polymer Nanofibers: From Spinning Fabrication Techniques to Recent Biomedical Applications

Functional polymeric micro-/nanofibers have emerged as promising materials for the construction of structures potentially useful in biomedical fields. Among all kinds of technologies to produce polymer fibers, spinning methods have gained considerable attention. Herein, we provide a recent review on advances in the design of micro- and nanofibrous platforms via spinning techniques for biomedical applications. Specifically, we emphasize electrospinning, solution blow spinning, centrifugal spinning, and microfluidic spinning approaches. We first introduce the fundamentals of these spinning methods and then highlight the potential biomedical applications of such micro- and nanostructured fibers for drug delivery, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, disease modeling, and sensing/biosensing. Finally, we outline the current challenges and future perspectives of spinning techniques for the practical applications of polymer fibers in the biomedical field.

Hourglass-Shaped Microfibers

Heterotypic microfibers have been recognized as promising building blocks for the multifunctionality demanded in various fields, such as environmental and biomedical engineering. We present a novel microfluidics-based technique to generate bio-inspired microfibers with hourglass-shaped knots (named hourglass-shaped microfibers) via the integration of a non-solvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) process. The microfibers with spindle knots (named spindle-microfibers) are generated as templates at a large scale. The morphologies of spindle-microfibers can be precisely regulated by controlling the flow rates of the constituent fluids. After post-treatment of the partially gelled spindle-microfibers in ethanol, the encapsulated oil cores leak from knots, and the fibers morph into an hourglass shape. By controlling the oil core spillage and the template's configurations, a variety of hourglass-shaped microfibers can be obtained with adjustable morphologies and densities ranging from those of cavity-microfibers to those of spindle-microfibers. The hourglass-shaped microfibers preponderate spindle-microfibers in terms of changeable weight, adjustable morphologies, high specific surface areas, and enhanced surface roughness. Their unique macroscale topographies and properties lead to enhanced dehumidification and water collection abilities. This NIPS-integrated microfluidic technique offers a promising and novel way to manufacture microfibers by design, tailoring their structures and properties to suit a desired application.

Multifunctional Micro/Nanoscale Fibers Based on Microfluidic Spinning Technology

Superfine multifunctional micro/nanoscale fibrous materials with high surface area and ordered structure have attracted intensive attention for widespread applications in recent years. Microfluidic spinning technology (MST) has emerged as a powerful and versatile platform because of its various advantages such as high surface-area-to-volume ratio, effective heat transfer, and enhanced reaction rate. The resultant well-defined micro/nanoscale fibers exhibit controllable compositions, advanced structures, and new physical/chemical properties. The latest developments and achievements in microfluidic spun fiber materials are summarized in terms of the underlying preparation principles, geometric configurations, and functionalization. Variously architected structures and shapes by MST, including cylindrical, grooved, flat, anisotropic, hollow, core-shell, Janus, heterogeneous, helical, and knotted fibers, are emphasized. In particular, fiber-spinning chemistry in MST for achieving functionalization of fiber materials by in situ chemical reactions inside fibers is introduced. Additionally, the applications of the fabricated functional fibers are highlighted in sensors, microactuators, photoelectric devices, flexible electronics, tissue engineering, drug delivery, and water collection. Finally, recent progress, challenges, and future perspectives are discussed.

Microfluidic Fabrication of Biomimetic Helical Hydrogel Microfibers for Blood-Vessel-on-a-Chip Applications

Nature has created many perfect helical microstructures, including DNA, collagen fibrils, and helical blood vessels, to achieve unique physiological functions. While previous studies have developed a number of microfabrication strategies, the preparation of complex helical structures and cell-laden helical structures for biomimetic applications remains challenging. In this study, a one-step microfluidics-based methodology is presented for preparing complex helical hydrogel microfibers and cell-laden helical hydrogel microfibers. Several types of complex helical structures, including multilayer helical microfibers and superhelical hollow microfibers with helical channels, are prepared by simply tuning the flow rates or modifying the geometry of microfluidic device. With the decent perfusability, the hollow microfibers may simulate the structural characteristics of helical blood vessels and create swirling blood flow in a blood-vessel-on-chip setup. Such hydrogel-based helical microstructures may potentially be used in areas such as blood vessel tissue engineering, organ-on-chips, drug screening, and biological actuators.

Engineered tissue micro-rings fabricated from aggregated fibroblasts and microfibres for a bottom-up tissue engineering approach

Tissue rings with incorporated microscaffolds have been engineered as promising building blocks for constructing biological tubes from the bottom up. However, the microscaffolds available for incorporation are very limited at present. In this paper we provide an efficient strategy to first incorporate microfluidic spun Ca-alginate microfibres encapsulating magnetic nanoparticles into self-assembled fibroblast micro-rings. Based on the surface modification, microfibres with a size of ∼40 μm allowed fibroblasts to spread and proliferate along the long axis. The optimal cell seeding density was obtained by evaluating the degree of coverage of fibroblasts on microfibres after 3 days of culture. Then we designed a magnetically guided culture apparatus with multiple annular micro-wells to facilitate cell-driven assembly of microfibres. A manipulation strategy dependent on surface tension was used to pattern microfibres along the micro-wells prior to cell seeding, and magnetic attraction further kept the patterned microfibres from being deposited in the micro-wells during cultivation. Within 3 days of culture, microfibre-incorporated tissue micro-rings were formed in the micro-wells. Quantitative analysis of the formation process revealed liquid-like aggregating behaviours, and incorporated microfibres showed the potential to promote the directed organization of cells in tissue micro-rings. Furthermore, magnetically driven manipulation was used robotically to assemble the micro-rings on a micropillar inserted into the centre of the culture apparatus. After 5 days of culture to allow cell fusion, a biological tubular microstructure was achieved. Microfluidic spinning can generate fibres with a variety of shapes, geometries, and compositions; therefore, our proposed method greatly enriches the variety of microscaffolds available for incorporation into tissue rings to engineer complex artificial organs for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Microfluidics-Based Fabrication of Cell-Laden Hydrogel Microfibers for Potential Applications in Tissue Engineering

Fibrous hydrogel scaffolds have recently attracted increasing attention for tissue engineering applications. While a number of approaches have been proposed for fabricating microfibers, it remains difficult for current methods to produce materials that meet the essential requirements of being simple, flexible and bio-friendly. It is especially challenging to prepare cell-laden microfibers which have different structures to meet the needs of various applications using a simple device. In this study, we developed a facile two-flow microfluidic system, through which cell-laden hydrogel microfibers with various structures could be easily prepared in one step. Aiming to meet different tissue engineering needs, several types of microfibers with different structures, including single-layer, double-layer and hollow microfibers, have been prepared using an alginate-methacrylated gelatin composite hydrogel by merely changing the inner and outer fluids. Cell-laden single-layer microfibers were obtained by subsequently seeding mouse embryonic osteoblast precursor cells (MC3T3-E1) cells on the surface of the as-prepared microfibers. Cell-laden double-layer and hollow microfibers were prepared by directly encapsulating MC3T3-E1 cells or human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in the cores of microfibers upon their fabrication. Prominent proliferation of cells happened in all cell-laden single-layer, double-layer and hollow microfibers, implying potential applications for them in tissue engineering.

Spinning and Applications of Bioinspired Fiber Systems

Natural fiber systems provide inspirations for artificial fiber spinning and applications. Through a long process of trial and error, great progress has been made in recent years. The natural fiber itself, especially silks, and the formation mechanism are better understood, and some of the essential factors are implemented in artificial spinning methods, benefiting from advanced manufacturing technologies. In addition, fiber-based materials produced via bioinspired spinning methods find an increasingly wide range of biomedical, optoelectronic, and environmental engineering applications. This paper reviews recent developments in the spinning and application of bioinspired fiber systems, introduces natural fiber and spinning processes and artificial spinning methods, and discusses applications of artificial fiber materials. Views on remaining challenges and the perspective on future trends are also proposed.

Transformable bubble-filled alginate microfibers via vertical microfluidics

A novel buoyancy-assisted vertical microfluidic setup has been developed to fabricate a new class of transformable bubble-filled hydrogel microfibers. A co-axial flow of an aqueous sodium-alginate solution enveloping an air phase was injected into a quiescent aqueous CaCl2 solution, through a vertically-oriented co-axial glass-capillary setup. This induced instantaneous gelation and produced bubble-filled calcium-alginate fibers. The surface-morphology of the resulting fibers was controlled from smooth to wavy by slowing down the gelation kinetics. The advantage of the buoyancy force acting on the fibers by the trapped air bubbles was taken not only to shape the fibers, but to transform them into several other novel hydrogel structures, such as water-filled segmented fibers, beaded microfibers, and threaded capsules. The ultimate transformability was demonstrated by the fibers being allowed to elongate and then undergo controlled destruction to produce uniform anisotropic micro-particles with a wide range of sizes and shapes from frustums to barrel and cylindrical types.

Synthesis of Biomaterials Utilizing Microfluidic Technology

Recently, microfluidic technologies have attracted an enormous amount of interest as potential new tools for a large range of applications including materials synthesis, chemical and biological detection, drug delivery and screening, point-of-care diagnostics, and in-the-field analysis. Their ability to handle extremely small volumes of fluids is accompanied by additional benefits, most notably, rapid and efficient mass and heat transfer. In addition, reactions performed within microfluidic systems are highly controlled, meaning that many advanced materials, with uniform and bespoke properties, can be synthesized in a direct and rapid manner. In this review, we discuss the utility of microfluidic systems in the synthesis of materials for a variety of biological applications. Such materials include microparticles or microcapsules for drug delivery, nanoscale materials for medicine or cellular assays, and micro- or nanofibers for tissue engineering.

Flexible Polymer Ultra-Fine Fiber with Extreme Toughness

Fiber materials with multilevel interior structures have myriad applications in many fields due to their unique properties. In this study, we develop a bioinspired flexible ultrafine polymer fiber via an integrated microfluidic-electrospinning technology. The fiber possesses periodic hollow and tubular chambers with a shell layer of approximately 150 nm in thickness extremely like natural bamboo. The single fiber with a diameter of ∼1.5 μm exhibits the Young's modulus ranging from 2 to 7 MPa measured with atomic force microscopy (AFM). The fiber with periodic hollow chambers and extreme toughness can find many applications in medicine, industry, and agriculture.

Magnetic alginate microfibers as scaffolding elements for the fabrication of microvascular-like structures

Traditional cell-encapsulating scaffolds may elicit adverse host responses and inhomogeneity in cellular distribution. Thus, fabrication techniques for cellular self-assembly with micro-scaffold incorporation have been used recently to generate toroidal cellular modules for the bottom-up construction of vascular-like structures. The micro-scaffolds show advantage in promoting tissue formation. However, owing to the lack of annular cell micro-scaffolds, it remains a challenge to engineer micro-scale toroidal cellular modules (micro-TCMs) to fabricate microvascular-like structures. Here, magnetic alginate microfibers (MAMs) are used as scaffolding elements, where a winding strategy enables them to be formed into micro-rings as annular cell micro-scaffolds. These micro-rings were investigated for NIH/3T3 fibroblast growth as a function of surface chemistry and MAM size. Afterwards, micro-TCMs were successfully fabricated with the formation of NIH/3T3 fibroblasts and extracellular matrix layers on the three-dimensional micro-ring surfaces. Simple non-contact magnetic assembly was used to stack the micro-TCMs along a micro-pillar, after which cell fusion rapidly connected the assembled micro-TCMs into a microvascular-like structure. Endothelial cells or drugs encapsulated in the MAMs could be included in the microvascular-like structures as in vitro cellular models for vascular tissue engineering, or as miniaturization platforms for pharmaceutical drug testing in the future.

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

Magnetic alginate microfibers functioned as scaffolding elements for guiding cell growth in micro-scale toroidal cellular modules (micro-TCMs) and provided a magnetic functionality to the micro-TCMs for non-contact 3D assembly in external magnetic fields. By using the liquid/air interface, the non-contact spatial manipulation of the micro-TCMs in the liquid environment was performed with a cost-effective motorized electromagnetic needle. A new biofabrication paradigm of construct of microvascular-like structure. The micro-tubal-shaped structures allowed direct cell-to-cell contact that solved problems of cell-encapsulating scaffolds.

High-water-absorbing calcium alginate fibrous scaffold fabricated by microfluidic spinning for use in chronic wound dressings

More and more water-absorbing wound dressings have been studied since moist wound-healing treatment can effectively promote the healing of wounds. In this work, we introduce a novel method to produce improved wound dressings with high-water-absorbance. A high-water-absorbing calcium alginate (Ca-Alg) fibrous scaffold was fabricated simply by microfluidic spinning and centrifugal reprocessing. The structure and physical properties of the scaffold were characterized, and its water-absorbing, cytotoxicity properties and other applicability to wound dressings were comprehensively evaluated. Our results indicate that this material possesses high water-absorbing properties, is biocompatible, and has a 3D structure that mimics the extracellular matrix, while Ca-Alg fibers loaded with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) exhibit broad-spectrum antibacterial activities; these properties meet the requirements for promoting the healing of chronic wounds and are widely applicable to wound dressings.

More and more water-absorbing wound dressings have been studied since moist wound-healing treatment can effectively promote the healing of wounds.

Hydrogel microfibers with perfusable folded channels for tissue constructs with folded morphology

Perfusable microfibers with folded channels are generated to fabricate small intestine and skeletal muscle constructs for tissue engineering.

Biomaterials Meet Microfluidics: From Synthesis Technologies to Biological Applications

Microfluidics is characterized by laminar flow at micro-scale dimension, high surface to volume ratio, and markedly improved heat/mass transfer. In addition, together with advantages of large-scale integration and flexible manipulation, microfluidic technology has been rapidly developed as one of the most important platforms in the field of functional biomaterial synthesis. Compared to biomaterials assisted by conventional strategies, functional biomaterials synthesized by microfluidics are with superior properties and performances, due to their controllable morphology and composition, which have shown great advantages and potential in the field of biomedicine, biosensing, and tissue engineering. Take the significance of microfluidic engineered biomaterials into consideration; this review highlights the microfluidic synthesis technologies and biomedical applications of materials. We divide microfluidic based biomaterials into four kinds. According to the material dimensionality, it includes: 0D (particulate materials), 1D (fibrous materials), 2D (sheet materials), and 3D (construct forms of materials). In particular, micro/nano-particles and micro/nano-fibers are introduced respectively. This classification standard could include all of the microfluidic biomaterials, and we envision introducing a comprehensive and overall evaluation and presentation of microfluidic based biomaterials and their applications.

Flexible Asymmetric Encapsulation for Dehydration-Responsive Hybrid Microfibers

A new class of smart alginate microfibers with asymmetric oil encapsulates is introduced. These fibers are produced by injecting an aqueous alginate solution into an outer aqueous calcium chloride solution to form alginate fibers, which are asymmetrically loaded with oil entities through eccentrically aligned inner capillaries. The fiber morphology and its degree of asymmetry can be tuned via altering the size, location, and frequency of the oil encapsulates. These asymmetric fibers reveal significant potential for applications where conventional symmetric fibers fail to perform. It is shown how asymmetric oil-encapsulated fibers can become dehydration-sensitive, and trigger the release of encapsulates if their hydration level drops below a critical value. It is also shown how the triggered response could be switched off on demand by stabilizing the oil encapsulates. The capability of asymmetric fibers to carry and release multiple cargos in parallel is demonstrated. The fibers loaded with equal-sized spheres are more asymmetric than those containing unequal drops, have a higher tensile strength, and show better potential for a triggered response.

Simple Spinning of Heterogeneous Hollow Microfibers on Chip

A novel and simple chip-based microfluidic strategy is proposed for continuously controlled spinning of desirable hollow microfibers. These fabricated fiber-shaped materials exhibit extraordinary morphological and structural complexity, as well as a heterogeneous composition. The resulting specific hollow microfibers have potential applications in numerous chemical and biomedical fields.

Biomimetic spinning of silk fibers and in situ cell encapsulation

In situ embedding of sensitive materials (e.g., cells and proteins) in silk fibers without damage presents a significant challenge due to the lack of mild and efficient methods. Here, we report the development of a microfluidic chip-based method for preparation of meter-long silk fibroin (SF) hydrogel fibers by mimicking the silkworm-spinning process. For the spinning of SF fibers, alginate was used as a sericin-like material to induce SF phase separation and entrap liquid SFs, making it possible to shape the outline of SF-based fibers under mild physicochemical conditions. L929 fibroblasts were encapsulated in the fibric hydrogel and displayed excellent viability. Cell-laden SF fibric hydrogels prepared using our method offer a new type of SF-based biomedical device with potential utility in biomedicine.

A Self-Folding Hydrogel In Vitro Model for Ductal Carcinoma

A significant challenge in oncology is the need to develop in vitro models that accurately mimic the complex microenvironment within and around normal and diseased tissues. Here, we describe a self-folding approach to create curved hydrogel microstructures that more accurately mimic the geometry of ducts and acini within the mammary glands, as compared to existing three-dimensional block-like models or flat dishes. The microstructures are composed of photopatterned bilayers of poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA), a hydrogel widely used in tissue engineering. The PEGDA bilayers of dissimilar molecular weights spontaneously curve when released from the underlying substrate due to differential swelling ratios. The photopatterns can be altered via AutoCAD-designed photomasks so that a variety of ductal and acinar mimetic structures can be mass-produced. In addition, by co-polymerizing methacrylated gelatin (methagel) with PEGDA, microstructures with increased cell adherence are synthesized. Biocompatibility and versatility of our approach is highlighted by culturing either SUM159 cells, which were seeded postfabrication, or MDA-MB-231 cells, which were encapsulated in hydrogels; cell viability is verified over 9 and 15 days, respectively. We believe that self-folding processes and associated tubular, curved, and folded constructs like the ones demonstrated here can facilitate the design of more accurate in vitro models for investigating ductal carcinoma.

Rapid mixing of viscous liquids by electrical coiling

The control for the processing of precursor liquids determines whether the properties and functions of the final material product can be engineered. An inherent challenge of processing viscous liquids arises from their large resistance to deform. Here, we report on the discovery of an electric approach that can significantly contribute to address this challenge. The applied electric force can induce a straight viscous jet to coil, and the resulting coiling characteristics are governed by the electric stress. We demonstrate the promising use of electrical coiling in the rapid and efficient mixing of viscous liquids. Remarkably, the degree of mixing can be precisely adjusted by tuning the applied electric stress. Our approach of controlling the coiling electrically has important implications on applications such as dispensing and printing of resins, printing patterned surfaces and scaffolds, processing of food and generating non-woven fabrics.

A novel synthetic microfiber with controllable size for cell encapsulation and culture

A novel synthetic microfiber for cell encapsulation and culture via a rapid and mild crosslinking reaction in microfluidic devices.

The microfluidic synthesis of composite hollow microfibers for K+-responsive controlled release based on a host–guest system

Composite PLGA hollow microfibers with K⁺-responsive controlled-release characteristics are developed for drug delivery.

Microfluidic Fabrication of Bio-Inspired Microfibers with Controllable Magnetic Spindle-Knots for 3D Assembly and Water Collection

A simple and flexible approach is developed for controllable fabrication of spider-silk-like microfibers with tunable magnetic spindle-knots from biocompatible calcium alginate for controlled 3D assembly and water collection. Liquid jet templates with volatile oil drops containing magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles are generated from microfluidics for fabricating spider-silk-like microfibers. The structure of jet templates can be precisely adjusted by simply changing the flow rates to tailor the structures of the resultant spider-silk-like microfibers. The microfibers can be well manipulated by external magnetic fields for controllably moving, and patterning and assembling into different 2D and 3D structures. Moreover, the dehydrated spider-silk-like microfibers, with magnetic spindle-knots for collecting water drops, can be controllably assembled into spider-web-like structures for excellent water collection. These spider-silk-like microfibers are promising as functional building blocks for engineering complex 3D scaffolds for water collection, cell culture, and tissue engineering.