title: Microfluidic Generation of Monodisperse, Structurally Homogeneous Alginate Microgels for Cell Encapsulation and 3D Cell Culture.
abstract: Monodisperse alginate microgels (10-50 μm) are created via droplet-based microfluidics by a novel crosslinking procedure. Ionic crosslinking of alginate is induced by release of chelated calcium ions. The process separates droplet formation and gelation reaction enabling excellent control over size and homogeneity under mild reaction conditions. Living mesenchymal stem cells are encapsulated and cultured in the generated 3D microenvironments.
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 02138, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Utech
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 02138, Cambridge, MA, USA.|Faculty of Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 12, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Radivoje
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Prodanovic
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 02138, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Angelo S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 02138, Cambridge, MA, USA.|Molecular Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, RWTH Aachen University, 52062, Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Raluca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ostafe
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 02138, Cambridge, MA, USA.|Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, 02138, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Mooney
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 02138, Cambridge, MA, USA.|Department of Physics, Harvard University, 02138, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Weitz
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates / Q000737:chemistry*; D002119:Calcium Carbonate / Q000737:chemistry; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D005782:Gels / Q000737:chemistry*; D020723:Glucuronic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D006603:Hexuronic Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008863:Microspheres; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D005782:Gels; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D020723:Glucuronic Acid; D002119:Calcium Carbonate
keywords: alginate; cells; encapsulation; microfluidics; microgels