Microgel assembly: Fabrication, characteristics and application in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine

Qi Feng; Dingguo Li; Qingtao Li; Xiaodong Cao; Hua Dong

doi:10.1016/j.bioactmat.2021.07.020

Microgel assembly: Fabrication, characteristics and application in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine

Bioact Mater. 2021 Jul 23:9:105-119. doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2021.07.020. eCollection 2022 Mar.

Authors

Qi Feng^{1

2

3}, Dingguo Li^{1

2

4}, Qingtao Li^{2

5}, Xiaodong Cao^{1

2

3}, Hua Dong^{1

2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
² National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction (NERC-TRR), Guangzhou, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Biomedical Materials and Engineering of the Ministry of Education, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
⁴ Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
⁵ School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Microgel assembly, a macroscopic aggregate formed by bottom-up assembly of microgels, is now emerging as prospective biomaterials for applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM). This mini-review first summarizes the fabrication strategies available for microgel assembly, including chemical reaction, physical reaction, cell-cell interaction and external driving force, then highlights its unique characteristics, such as microporosity, injectability and heterogeneity, and finally itemizes its applications in the fields of cell culture, tissue regeneration and biofabrication, especially 3D printing. The problems to be addressed for further applications of microgel assembly are also discussed.

Keywords: Microgel assembly; Regenerative medicine; Tissue engineering.

Publication types

Review