Optical Cell Picking in Photodegradable Hydrogels Based on Cellular Morphology in 3d Culture Environment

We present a new methodology for optical cell picking in 3D culture environment, because biological cells often show phenotype alterations by the interactions with pericellular matrix in 3D culture. In this study, we encapsulated cells in photodegradable hydrogels by mixing cell-containing gelatin solution with crosslinker, NHS-PC-4armPEG. The minimum resolution of photodegradation was estimated around 20 μm. The encapsulated cells in the computer-controlled light irradiated area can be selectively separated and retrieved without any damages in terms of cell growth. This methodology and the photodegradable hydrogels in this study are applicable to cell separation based on the cellular morphology in 3D environment.