| 초록 |
The encapsulation of live cells in calcium cross-linked alginate gel has been extensively studied. However, biological use of alginate gel has been limited by the low structural integrity of the gels for a long-term cell culture condition. Therefore, in this study, we demonstrated that the incorporation of sequential covalent cross-links in an ionically cross-linked alginate gel using synthetic and natural hybrid polymers. This strategy tuned the toughness of an encapsulated alginate micro-ball and further regulated the targeted cell delivery in terms of growth and differentiation of neuron cells encapsulated in the gels. Overall, the results of this study will be highly useful in designing encapsulation devices with tuned structural integrity for regulating various functions of live cells. |
