Affiliation:
1. Graduate School of Environmental Studies Tohoku University Sendai 980‐8579 Japan
2. Graduate School of Engineering Tohoku University Sendai 980‐8579 Japan
3. Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences Tohoku University Sendai 980‐8577 Japan
Abstract
AbstractHydrogels are widely used in cell culture applications. For fabricating tissues and organs, it is essential to produce hydrogels with specific structures. For instance, multiple‐branched hydrogels are desirable for the development of network architectures that resemble the biological vascular network. However, existing techniques are inefficient and time‐consuming for this application. To address this issue, a simple, rapid, and large‐scale fabrication method based on viscous fingering is proposed. This approach utilizes only two plates. To produce a thin solution, a high‐viscosity solution is introduced into the space between the plates, and one of the plates is peeled off. During this procedure, the solution's high viscosity results in the formation of multi‐branched structures. Using this strategy, 180 mm × 200 mm multi‐branched Pluronic F‐127 hydrogels are successfully fabricated within 1 min. These structures are used as sacrificial layers for the fabrication of polydimethylsiloxane channels for culturing human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Similarly, multi‐branched Matrigel and calcium (Ca)‐alginate hydrogel structures are fabricated, and HUVECs are successfully cultured inside the hydrogels. Also, the hydrogels are collected from the plate, while maintaining their structures. The proposed fabrication technique will contribute to the development of network architectures such as vascular structures in tissue engineering.
Funder
Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development
Subject
Materials Chemistry,Polymers and Plastics,Biomaterials,Bioengineering,Biotechnology