Summary
Published in Scientific Reports (2022), this peer-reviewed study used 3D Petri Dish® micro-molds to form scaffold-free 3D microtissues. Full citation: Sayer, Simon, et al. Guiding cell migration in 3D with high-resolution photografting
Guiding cell migration in 3D with high-resolution photografting
Research Overview
Multi-photon lithography can precisely tune both the biochemical and biophysical properties of a hydrogel microenvironment. This study presents a method based on multi-photon photografting of DSSA (4,4’-diazido-2,2’-stilbenedisulfonic acid) into gelatin-based hydrogels to induce cell alignment, directional migration, and endothelial sprouting.
DSSA photografting produces complex, high-resolution patterns through a biocompatible, broadly applicable, and comparatively fast process. Human adipose-derived stem cells oriented preferentially along photografted patterns, and co-culture spheroids of those cells with human umbilical vein endothelial cells were used to study directed sprouting in 3D.
Key Discoveries
- Multi-photon photografting of DSSA patterns gelatin hydrogels at high resolution
- Human adipose-derived stem cells aligned preferentially to the grafted pattern
- hASC-HUVEC co-culture spheroids used to study directed endothelial sprouting in 3D
