title: Microscale Strategies for Generating Cell-Encapsulating Hydrogels.
abstract: Hydrogels in which cells are encapsulated are of great potential interest for tissue engineering applications. These gels provide a structure inside which cells can spread and proliferate. Such structures benefit from controlled microarchitectures that can affect the behavior of the enclosed cells. Microfabrication-based techniques are emerging as powerful approaches to generate such cell-encapsulating hydrogel structures. In this paper we introduce common hydrogels and their crosslinking methods and review the latest microscale approaches for generation of cell containing gel particles. We specifically focus on microfluidics-based methods and on techniques such as micromolding and electrospinning.
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA ; Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Seila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Selimović
authors.forename: Jonghyun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Hojae
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bae
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dokmeci
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khademhosseini
keywords: cell encapsulation; hydrogel; lab-on-a-chip; microfluidics; micromolding