title: Versatile, cell and chip friendly method to gel alginate in microfluidic devices.
abstract: Alginate is used extensively in microfluidic devices to produce discrete beads or fibres at the microscale. Such structures may be used to encapsulate sensitive cargoes such as cells and biomolecules. On chip gelation of alginate represents a significant challenge since gelling kinetics or physicochemical conditions are not biocompatible. Here we present a new method that offers a hitherto unprecedented level of control over the gelling kinetics and pH applied to the encapsulation of a variety of cells in both bead and fibre geometries. This versatile approach proved straightforward to adjust to achieve appropriate solution conditions required for implementation in microfluidic devices and resulted in highly reliable device operation and very high viability of several different encapsulated cell types for prolonged periods. We believe this method offers a paradigm shift in alginate gelling technology for application in microfluidics.
authors.affiliation: Biophysics and Medical Technology, Dept. of Physics, NTNU, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway. bjorn.stokke@ntnu.no.
authors.forename: Armend G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Håti
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Bassett
authors.forename: Jonas M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ribe
authors.forename: Pawel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sikorski
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Weitz
authors.forename: Bjørn T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Stokke
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates / Q000737:chemistry*; D016825:Chlamydomonas reinhardtii / Q000166:cytology; D004867:Equipment Design; D005782:Gels; D020723:Glucuronic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D006603:Hexuronic Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D019169:Jurkat Cells; D056656:Lab-On-A-Chip Devices; D046939:Synechocystis / Q000166:cytology
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D005782:Gels; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D020723:Glucuronic Acid