Imaging-assisted hydrogel formation for single cell isolation

We report a flexible single-cell isolation method by imaging-assisted hydrogel formation. Our approach consists of imaging-aided selective capture of cells of interest by encasing them into a polymeric hydrogel, followed by removal of unwanted cells and subsequent release of isolated cells by enzymatic hydrogel degradation, thus offering an...

Microfabrication and microstructuring of hydrogel materials

Growing importance of hydrogels in various areas of human life has led to increasing need in controlling their properties, which is generally achieved by adjusting hydrogels shape and microstructure. Even though standard microfabrication and microstructuring techniques can be currently applied in hydrogel research, the variety of properties of...

Extracellular vesicle quantification and characterization: Common methods and emerging approaches

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a family of small membrane vesicles that carry information about cells by which they are secreted. Growing interest in the role of EVs in intercellular communication, but also in using their diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic potential in (bio) medical applications, demands for accurate assessment of their...

Self-orienting hydrogel micro-buckets as novel cell carriers

Hydrogel microparticles are important in materials engineering, but their applications remain limited owing to the difficulties associated with their manipulation. Herein, we report the self-orientation of crescent-shaped hydrogel microparticles and elucidate its mechanism. Additionally, the microparticles were used, for the first time, as...

A nano-fibrous platform of copolymer patterned surfaces for controlled cell alignment

The last decade has witnessed great progress in understanding and manipulating self-assembly of block copolymers in solution. A wide variety of micellar structures can be created and many promising applications in bioscience have been reported. In particular, nano-fibrous micelles provide a great platform to mimic the filamentous structure of...

Free-standing supramolecular hydrogel objects by reaction-diffusion

Self-assembly provides access to a variety of molecular materials, yet spatial control over structure formation remains difficult to achieve. Here we show how reaction-diffusion (RD) can be coupled to a molecular self-assembly process to generate macroscopic free-standing objects with control over shape, size, and functionality. In RD, two or...

Microcapsules with a permeable hydrogel shell and an aqueous core continuously produced in a 3D microdevice by all-aqueous microfluidics

We report the continuous production of microcapsules composed of an aqueous core and permeable hydrogel shell, made stable by the controlled photo-cross-linking of the shell of an all-aqueous double emulsion. While most previous work on water-based emulsions focused on active droplet formation, here double emulsion droplets were spontaneously...