Microengineered hydrogels

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Memic, Adnan Center for Nanotechnology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Lu, Diana Center for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.

Khademhosseini, Ali Center for Nanotechnology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Last reviewed:2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.YB150577

Microfabrication strategies from many fields have been used to microengineer hydrogel scaffolds for tissue engineering. Current micropatterning techniques primarily include photolithography, micromolding, and microfluidics approaches. Additionally, bioprinting has revolutionized the field as a rapid additive process to produce 3D cell-laden hydrogels of various sizes, shapes, or combinations of polymers. Microengineered hydrogels are therefore the best possible mimics of the native structure and function of the extracellular matrix (ECM)—a scaffold of secreted molecules that provides cells with structural support, mechanical stability, bioactive cues, and space that will allow for future cellular remodeling. In this article, we describe current hydrogel microengineering strategies and their application to tackling major 3D tissue engineering challenges.

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