Preparation of Microporous Hydrogel Sponges for 3D Perfusion Culture of Mammalian Cells

Department of Applied Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Chiba University, 1-33 Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8522, Japan

^* Corresponding author: m-yamada@faculty.chiba-u.jp

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) perfusable organ models, primarily composed of liver cells, are expected as an efficient tool for in vitro cell-based drug screening and development. Various types of hydrogel-based 3D cell culture systems have been developed, but the lack in proper techniques to form vasculature networks in the hydrogel matrices results in inefficient supply of oxygen and nutrition to the cells. Here we propose a facile strategy to creating a perfusable hydrogel-based liver cell culture system. We utilized a bicontinuous dispersion of an aqueous two-phase system, which was composed of polyethylene glycol (PEG)-rich and gelatin methacrylate (GelMA)-rich phases, to produce cell-encapsulating microporous GelMA-based hydrogels. We successfully encapsulated HepG2 cells in the hydrogel matrix with a high cell viability, and confirmed that the spongious hydrogel was superior to homogeneous hydrogels for 3D cell culture. We performed perfusion culture for the cells encapsulated in the hydrogel sponge, to verify the usability and versatility of the presented hydrogel material for perfusion culture. The presented approach would be useful as a unique tool for developing organs-on-a-chip systems.