title: Alginate gelation-induced cell death during laser-assisted cell printing.
abstract: Modified laser-induced forward transfer has emerged as a promising bioprinting technique. Depending on the operating conditions and cell properties, laser cell printing may cause cell injury and even death, which should be carefully elucidated for it to be a viable technology. This study has investigated the effects of alginate gelation, gelation time, alginate concentration, and laser fluence on the post-transfer cell viability of NIH 3T3 fibroblasts. Sodium alginate and calcium chloride are used as the gel precursor and gel reactant solution to form cell-laden alginate microspheres. It is found that the effects of gelation depend on the duration of gelation. Two-minute gelation is observed to increase the cell viability after 24 h incubation, mainly due to the protective cushion effect of the forming gel membrane during droplet landing. Despite the cushion effect from 10 min gelation, it is observed that the cell viability decreases after 24 h incubation because of the forming thick gel membrane that reduces nutrient and oxygen diffusion from the culture medium. In addition, the cell viability after 24 h incubation decreases as the laser fluence or alginate concentration increases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA.
authors.forename: Hemanth
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gudapati
authors.forename: Jingyuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Douglas B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Chrisey
mesh_terms: D016475:3T3 Cells; D000464:Alginates / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000737:chemistry; D000818:Animals; D062028:Bioprinting / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002122:Calcium Chloride / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry; D016923:Cell Death / Q000528:radiation effects*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology*; D020723:Glucuronic Acid / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry; D006603:Hexuronic Acids / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry; D007834:Lasers / Q000009:adverse effects*; D051379:Mice; D008863:Microspheres; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000295:instrumentation
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D020723:Glucuronic Acid; D002122:Calcium Chloride