Fabrication of cell-encapsulated fibers could greatly contribute to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. However, existing methods suffered from not only unavoidability of cell damaging conditions and/or sophisticated equipment, but also unavailability of proper materials to satisfy both mechanical and biological expectations. In this work, a simple method is proposed to prepare cell-e...

To seek a suitable scaffold for cartilage tissue engineering, we compared various hydrogel materials originating from animals, plants, or synthetic peptides. Human auricular chondrocytes were embedded in atelopeptide collagen, alginate, or PuraMatrix, all of which are or will soon be clinically available. The chondrocytes in the atelopeptide collagen proliferated well, while the others showed n...

Alginate is a hydrogel commonly used for cell culture by ionically crosslinking in the presence of divalent Ca(2+) ions. However these alginate gels are mechanically unstable, not permitting their use as scaffolds to engineer robust biological bone, breast, cardiac or tumor tissues. This issue can be addressed via encapsulation of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) serving as a reinforcing p...

The study presented in this article investigated the removal of copper ions from aqueous solutions by a synthetic hydrogel-forming adsorbent polymer based on sodium alginate (SA) and hydroxy apatite (HA) nanoparticles. The effect of adding Zeolite on the adsorption performance of this hydrogel was also investigated, and the optimum amount of Zeolite was determined by changing its quantity. The ...

Current studies investigating the role of biophysical cues on cell migration focus on the use of culture platforms with static material parameters. However, migrating cells in vivo often encounter spatial variations in extracellular matrix stiffness. To better understand the effects of stiffness gradients on cell migration, we developed a 2.5D cell culture platform where cells are sandwiched be...

Purpose. To evaluate the feasibility of regional radiochemotherapy of mammary tumors using in situ hydrogel loaded with cisplatin (CDDP) and rhenium-188 (Re). Methods. Sodium alginate (SA) and calcium chloride were used to create a hydrogel for delivery of CDDP and Re. In vitro studies were performed to evaluate cytotoxic effects of Re-hydrogel and sustained-release ability of the CDDP-hydrogel...

The concurrent release of calcium phosphate and biomacromolecules may improve wound healing responses at the interface with ceramic materials of orthopaedic and dental implants. Hydrogel coatings consisting of a mixture of alginate and chitosan were doped and applied onto solid carriers with the aim of investigating their use as local delivery vehicles. Coatings containing both the model macrom...

BACKGROUND The reconstruction of adipose tissue defects is often challenged by the complications that may occur following plastic and reconstructive surgery, including donor-site morbidity, implant migration and foreign body reaction. To overcome these problems, adipose tissue engineering (ATE) using stem cell-based regeneration strategies has been widely explored in the last years. Mounting ev...

Potato tuber sprout results in nutrient loss and solanine production. Essential oils have been mentioned to reduce sprouting; however, they can easily evaporate decompose, thus restricting their application. In this paper, the inhibition effect of methyl salicylate (MeSA) as main component wintergreen essential oil on sprouting was evaluated, MeSA hydrogel prepared by using ionic gel method imp...

This paper describes a selective retrieval method for arrayed monodisperse hydrogel beads containing cells. We implemented modifications such as: (i) the incorporation of cavities as nucleation sites, (ii) indirect retrieval using bubble powered jets and (iii) the use of low boiling point fluid in our device to realize a gentle optical-based retrieval method. Parametric studies confirmed that t...