Biomimetic spinning of silk fibers and in situ cell encapsulation. Issue 14 (14th June 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cheng, Jie; Park, DoYeun; Jun, Yesl; Lee, JaeSeo; Hyun, Jinho; Lee, Sang-Hoon
• Is Part Of: Lab on a chip. Volume 16:Issue 14(2016)
• Page Start: 2654
• Page End: 2661
• Publication Date: 2016-06-14
• Subjects: Miniature electronic equipment -- Periodicals; Combinatorial chemistry -- Periodicals; Biotechnology -- Periodicals; 543.0813
• DOI: 10.1039/c6lc00488a
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1473-0197

Abstract

Abstract : Cell-laden silk-fibroin-based hydrogel fibers are prepared by mimicking the natural Bombyx mori spinning process using a microfluidic chip. Abstract : In situ embedding of sensitive materials ( e.g., cells and proteins) in silk fibers without damage presents a significant challenge due to the lack of mild and efficient methods. Here, we report the development of a microfluidic chip-based method for preparation of meter-long silk fibroin (SF) hydrogel fibers by mimicking the silkworm-spinning process. For the spinning of SF fibers, alginate was used as a sericin-like material to induce SF phase separation and entrap liquid SFs, making it possible to shape the outline of SF-based fibers under mild physicochemical conditions. L929 fibroblasts were encapsulated in the fibric hydrogel and displayed excellent viability. Cell-laden SF fibric hydrogels prepared using our method offer a new type of SF-based biomedical device with potential utility in biomedicine.