title: Microfluidic generation of composite biopolymer microgels with tunable compositions and mechanical properties.
abstract: To develop an understanding of the nature of complex, spatiotemporal interactions between cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM), artificial ECMs formed from hydrogels with a particular spectrum of properties are being developed at a rapid pace. We report the microfluidic generation of small, monodisperse composite agarose-gelatin hydrogel modules (microgel particles) that can be used for cell encapsulation and can serve as instructive cellular microenvironments. The agarose component of the microgels gelled under reduced temperature, while gelatin modified with phenolic hydroxyl groups underwent peroxidase-catalyzed gelation. Microgel composition, structure, morphology, and rigidity were tuned in a high-throughput manner. The results of this work are important for the generation of libraries of cell-laden polymer microgels for single-cell analysis, tissue engineering, and fundamental studies of the role of local microenvironments in cell fate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto , 80 Saint George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada.
authors.forename: Mokit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chau
authors.forename: Milad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abolhasani
authors.forename: Héloïse
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Thérien-Aubin
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yihe
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Velasco
authors.forename: Ethan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tumarkin
authors.forename: Arun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ramachandran
authors.forename: Eugenia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kumacheva
mesh_terms: D001704:Biopolymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry; D005780:Gelatin / Q000737:chemistry; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D044085:Microfluidics; D012685:Sepharose / Q000737:chemistry; D059010:Single-Cell Analysis; D023822:Tissue Engineering
chemical_list: D001704:Biopolymers; D020100:Hydrogels; D005780:Gelatin; D012685:Sepharose