GelMa Microbubbles Prepared in Microfluidics as Suitable Cell Carriers

Abstract

Microfluidics has great control over the size and uniformity of microspheres, which has been widely used in fabrication of different types of microspheres such as core-shell microbubbles. Gelatin Methacrylate (GelMa) as a biodegradable material that is closely resemble to native extracellular matrix (ECM). Photocrosslinked GelMa microspheres have gained numerous concerns in biomedical applications especially in three-dimensional cell culture and tissue engineering. In this article, we presented a suitable core-shell cell carrier based on biocompatible GelMa microbubbles. Highly monodispersed microbubbles were fabricated using a non-planar flow focusing microfluidic device. Both intact and collapsed microbubbles morphology were characterized through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), where clear hollow structures were found resulting from the gas core collapsing during the manipulation process. Furthermore, human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were seeded in the existence of microbubbles. Cells adhesion, migration and proliferation were observed in one week. It was notable that cells maintained high level of cell viability throughout the experiment. GelMa microbubble surface was also covered with cells, which became a facile carrier for cell culturing and targeted cell delivery.