Monodisperse Alginate Hydrogel Microbeads for Cell Encapsulation†

Abstract

A method that combines internal gelation with T-junction droplet formation in microfluidic devices for the production of monodisperse alginate hydrogel microbeads is described. Our approach gives high uniformity, and allows better control over both size and shape of the microbeads compared to conventional external gelation methods performed in microfluidic devices (see figure). Also, we demonstrate that our approach is mild enough to encapsulate mammalian cells (Jurkat) without loss of their viability.