No abstract

Hydrogels that mimic biological extracellular matrix (ECM) can provide cells with mechanical support and signaling cues to regulate their behavior. However, despite the ability of hydrogels to generate artificial ECM that can modulate cellular behavior, they often lack the mechanical strength needed for many tissue constructs. Here, we present reinforced CNT-gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) hybrid as a biocompatible, cell-responsive hydrogel platform for creating cell-laden three dimensional (3D) constructs. The addition of CNTs successfully reinforced GelMA hydrogels without decreasing their porosity or inhibiting cell growth. The CNT-GelMA hybrids were also photopatternable allowing for easy fabrication of microscale structures without harsh processes. NIH-3T3 cells and human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) readily spread and proliferated after encapsulation in CNT-GelMA hybrid microgels. By controlling the amount of CNTs incorporated into the GelMA hydrogel system, we demonstrated that the mechanical properties of the hybrid material can be tuned making it suitable for various tissue engineering applications. Furthermore, due to the high pattern fidelity and resolution of CNT incorporated GelMA, it can be used for in vitro cell studies or fabricating complex 3D biomimetic tissue-like structures.

Mimicking natural tissue structure is crucial for engineered tissues with intended applications ranging from regenerative medicine to biorobotics. Native tissues are highly organized at the microscale, thus making these natural characteristics an integral part of creating effective biomimetic tissue structures. There exists a growing appreciation that the incorporation of similar highly organized microscale structures in tissue engineering may yield a remedy for problems ranging from vascularization to cell function control/determination. In this review, we highlight the recent progress in the field of microscale tissue engineering and discuss the use of various biomaterials for generating engineered tissue structures with microscale features. In particular, we will discuss the use of microscale approaches to engineer the architecture of scaffolds, generate artificial vasculature, and control cellular orientation and differentiation. In addition, the emergence of microfabricated tissue units and the modular assembly to emulate hierarchical tissues will be discussed.