Abstract
In recent years, the microfluidic technique has been widely used in the field of tissue engineering. Possessing the advantages of large-scale integration and flexible manipulation, microfluidic devices may serve as the production line of building blocks and the microenvironment simulator in tissue engineering. Additionally, in microfluidic technique-assisted tissue engineering, various biomaterials are desired to fabricate the tissue mimicking or repairing structures (i.e., particles, fibers, and scaffolds). Among the materials, gelatin methacrylate (GelMA)-based hydrogels have shown great potential due to their biocompatibility and mechanical tenability. In this work, applications of GelMA hydrogels in microfluidic technique-assisted tissue engineering are reviewed mainly from two viewpoints: Serving as raw materials for microfluidic fabrication of building blocks in tissue engineering and the simulation units in microfluidic chip-based microenvironment-mimicking devices. In addition, challenges and outlooks of the exploration of GelMA hydrogels in tissue engineering applications are proposed.
Highlights
Tissue engineering has raised considerable attention as a potential alternative to tissue or organ transplantation in the area of biomedical engineering [1,2]
State-of-the-art applications of gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) hydrogels in tissue engineering assisted by microfluidic devices will be summarized
With the development of microfluidic technologies, tissue engineering assisted by microfluidic devices has emerged as a promising approach to solve the challenges like complex structures and organs mimicking and construction of cell-laden scaffolds and high-fidelity tissue microstructures
Summary
Tissue engineering has raised considerable attention as a potential alternative to tissue or organ transplantation in the area of biomedical engineering [1,2]. Other problems may include the difficulties to mimic complex structures and organs as well as the lack of biomaterials with desired mechanical, chemical, and biological properties [7,8]. To meet these challenges, bottom-up assembly methods for producing functional building blocks have emerged [9,10]. Despite the progress achieved in microfluidic devic-assisted tissue engineering, the ability to mimic the final tissue orientation still remains a challenge that needs to be addressed [24] These limitations are in part due to the lack of cell-laden constructs. Applications of GelMA Hydrogels as Raw Materials for Tissue Engineering Building Blocks
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