Synthesis of Cell-Laden Alginate Hollow Fibers Using Microfluidic Chips and Microvascularized Tissue-Engineering Applications

摘要

Biomimetic microstructures can be used for tissue assembly,tissue and organ regeneration, and as drug carriers.fli To date,diverse microscale structures that use microengineeringtechnologies (e.g., micro- or nanoparticles, micro- or nano-fibers, and 2D patterns) have been used as drug deliverysystems for the controlled release of therapeutic drugs, asscaffolds for support of cells in defective tissues, and as basicmaterials for the study of cell–cell interactions.[2'3] In livingorganisms, microscale and porous hollow fibers, such as bloodvessels, are important for the delivery of small amounts ofliquid to specific places. Such structures also have industrialapplications including the filtering and channeling of smallvolumes of liquid.141 In spite of their diverse potentialapplications, the study of hollow fibers has been limited tospecific areas, such as hemodialysis, because fabrication is verydifficult.15I In addition, it is difficult to load cells and proteinsinto hollow fibers without loss of biological activity.