Layer-by-layer coating of ECM-based droplets for cell delivery

Shani Elgin ¹ Assaf Shapira ¹ Tal Dvir ^1,2,3,4

¹Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Science, Tel Aviv University, Israel
²Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Israel
³Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Israel
⁴Sagol Center for Regenerative Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Israel

Tissue engineering is an interdisciplinary field that applies the principles of engineering and the life sciences toward the development of biological substitutes that restore, maintain, or improve tissue function. One of the strategies in tissue engineering is to inject encapsulated cells to the damaged tissue. Previous works in our lab lead to the development of extracellular matrix (ECM) hydrogel, produced from omentum tissue. Here, the hydrogel was processed in a microfluidic system to create cellular microdroplets. Following, the droplets were coated with an alginate layer to increase stability and slow degradation. We envision that such cellular microdroplets can be injected to diseased organs and promote efficient engraftment.