Issue 3, 2011

Microscale 3-D hydrogel scaffold for biomimetic gastrointestinal (GI) tract model

Abstract

Here we describe a simple and efficient method for fabricating natural and synthetic hydrogels into 3-D geometries with high aspect ratio and curvature. Fabricating soft hydrogels into such shapes using conventional techniques has been extremely difficult. Combination of laser ablation and sacrificial molding technique using calcium alginate minimizes the stress associated with separating the mold from the hydrogel structure, and therefore allows fabrication of complex structures without damaging them. As a demonstration of this technique, we have fabricated a microscale collagen structure mimicking the actual density and size of human intestinal villi. Colon carcinoma cell line, Caco-2 cells, was seeded onto the structure and cultured for 3 weeks until the whole structure was covered, forming finger-like structures mimicking the intestinal villi covered with epithelial cells. This method will enable construction of in vitro tissue models with physiologically realistic geometries at microscale resolutions.

Graphical abstract: Microscale 3-D hydrogel scaffold for biomimetic gastrointestinal (GI) tract model

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
03 Aug 2010
Accepted
19 Nov 2010
First published
15 Dec 2010

Lab Chip, 2011,11, 389-392

Microscale 3-D hydrogel scaffold for biomimetic gastrointestinal (GI) tract model

J. H. Sung, J. Yu, D. Luo, M. L. Shuler and J. C. March, Lab Chip, 2011, 11, 389 DOI: 10.1039/C0LC00273A

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