The differentiation and engraftment potential of mouse hematopoietic stem cells is maintained after bio-electrospray

Abstract

The bio-electrospray technique has been recently pioneered to manipulate living, immortalised and primary cells, including a wide range of stem cells. Studies have demonstrated that the creation of viable, fully functional in vitro microenvironments is possible using this technique. By modifying the bio-electrospray procedure (referred to as cell electrospinning), a variety of microenvironment morphologies have been fabricated. Because bio-electrospraying of biological material is a relatively new technique, it is important to determine if there are any unwanted consequences to the manipulated cells as a result of the procedure. Here, we establish the validity of the process using a heterogeneous, living population of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, using a functional in vitro assay and in vivo mouse model to investigate for side-effects that previous in vitro assays may not have detected. Our studies demonstrate that these bio-protocols have no obvious negative effects, thus indicating significant promise for utility in biological sciences and for a plethora of healthcare applications.

3D bioprinting and itsin vivoapplications

“…It has achieved inertness and controlled cell compartmentalization within the fabricated construct. Cell electrospinning was first introduced in the 2000s and was led mainly by Jayasinghe et al Their early work focused on proving that cell viability and functionality remained undamaged after printing through in vitro culture and in vivo engraftment . Gradually, this method was developed to fabricate constructs for tissue engineering.…”

“…Bioinks utilized in the 3D bioprinting of tissues and organs usually have cells encapsulated in hydrogel solution such as alginate . Synthetic polymers, such as Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and biodegradable polyurethane (PU), are used for improving the mechanical strength of the construct . The use of hydrogels or other materials to encapsulate cells attempts to mimic the role of ECM in the native tissue.…”

Living Cell Factories ‐ Electrosprayed Microcapsules and Microcarriers for Minimally Invasive Delivery

“…With regards to stem cells, BES did not have any detrimental effect on the viability also or functional capacity of cells to home to the bone marrow compartment after injection into a peripheral vein where they successfully engrafted and differentiated to produce various cell types that make up blood [12] . In another study, whole multicellular organism encapsulation was performed with no adverse effects on the development, viability, or fertility of Drosophila embryos [14d] .…”

“…Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) spraying is a one-step system that requires no additional solvents other than those usually present in suspension and is carried out under ambient conditions [12] . During EHD processing a flowing liquid is subjected to a high electrical potential difference, which is applied between the source of the flow and an earthed substrate (Figure 1ai).…”

“…For example, bio-electrospraying (BES) is a microencapsulation approach similar to EHD spraying driven by high intensity electric fields applied between a submerged, charged needle and a grounded electrode [12,14] . In one study, a viable cell population of >70% was achieved post-encapsulation over a time period of three weeks [14e] .…”