Convection-driven generation of long-range material gradients
- 24 December 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Elsevier BV in Biomaterials
- Vol. 31 (9), 2686-2694
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2009.12.012
Abstract
Natural materials exhibit anisotropy with variations in soluble factors, cell distribution, and matrix properties. The ability to recreate the heterogeneity of the natural materials is a major challenge for investigating cell–material interactions and for developing biomimetic materials. Here we present a generic fluidic approach using convection and alternating flow to rapidly generate multi-centimeter gradients of biomolecules, polymers, beads and cells and cross-gradients of two species in a microchannel. Accompanying theoretical estimates and simulations of gradient growth provide design criteria over a range of material properties. A poly(ethylene-glycol) hydrogel gradient, a porous collagen gradient and a composite material with a hyaluronic acid/gelatin cross-gradient were generated with continuous variations in material properties and in their ability to regulate cellular response. This simple yet generic fluidic platform should prove useful for creating anisotropic biomimetic materials and high-throughput platforms for investigating cell–microenvironment interactions.Keywords
This publication has 33 references indexed in Scilit:
- Rapid Generation of Biologically Relevant Hydrogels Containing Long‐Range Chemical GradientsAdvanced Functional Materials, 2009
- Photocrosslinking of Gelatin Macromers to Synthesize Porous Hydrogels That Promote Valvular Interstitial Cell FunctionTissue Engineering, Part A, 2009
- Characterizing dispersion in microfluidic channelsLab on a Chip, 2009
- Mechanically Robust and Bioadhesive Collagen and Photocrosslinkable Hyaluronic Acid Semi-Interpenetrating NetworksTissue Engineering, Part A, 2009
- Engineering Orthopedic Tissue InterfacesTissue Engineering, Part B: Reviews, 2009
- Rapid generation of spatially and temporally controllable long-range concentration gradients in a microfluidic deviceLab on a Chip, 2008
- Endothelial cell polarization and chemotaxis in a microfluidic deviceLab on a Chip, 2008
- The Transition from Stiff to Compliant Materials in Squid BeaksScience, 2008
- Neutrophil chemotaxis in linear and complex gradients of interleukin-8 formed in a microfabricated deviceNature Biotechnology, 2002
- Lagrangian approach to time-dependent laminar dispersion in rectangular conduits. Part 1. Two-dimensional flowsJournal of Fluid Mechanics, 1988