title: Cell-friendly inverse opal-like hydrogels for a spatially separated co-culture system.
abstract: Three-dimensional macroporous scaffolds have extensively been studied for cell-based tissue engineering but their use is mostly limited to mechanical support for cell adhesion and growth on the surface of macropores. Here, a templated fabrication method is described to prepare cell-friendly inverse opal-like hydrogels (IOHs) allowing both cell encapsulation within the hydrogel matrix and cell seeding on the surface of macropores. Ionically crosslinked alginate microbeads and photocrosslinkable biocompatible polymers are used as a sacrificial template and as a matrix, respectively. The alginate microbeads are easily removed by a chelating agent, with minimal toxicity for the encapsulated cells during template removal. The outer surface of macropores in IOHs can also provide a space for cell adherence. The cells encapsulated or attached in IOHs are able to remain viable and to proliferate over time. The elastic modulus and cell-adhesion properties of IOHs can be easily controlled and tuned. Finally, it is demonstrated that IOH can be used to co-culture two distinct cell populations in different spatial positions. This cell-friendly IOH system provides a 3D scaffold for organizing different cell types in a controllable microenvironment to investigate biological processes such as stem cell niches or tumor microenvironments.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 440-746, Republic of Korea; School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 01238, USA.
authors.forename: Jaeyun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sidi A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Bencherif
authors.forename: Weiwei Aileen
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Mooney
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018920:Coculture Techniques / Q000379:methods; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D061307:Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / Q000737:chemistry*; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008863:Microspheres; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry; D000097573:Red Fluorescent Protein
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D011108:Polymers; D000097573:Red Fluorescent Protein
keywords: alginate; co-culture system; gelatin; hydrogels; inverse opal structure
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