Biofabrication: programmable assembly of polysaccharide hydrogels in microfluidics as biocompatible scaffolds

Because of their stimuli-responsiveness to chemical and pH gradients, polysaccharide hydrogels such as chitosan and alginate can be assembled as scaffolds for biomolecules or cells. Using the electrical and flow control available in microfluidic networks, in situ fabrication of 3D hydrogel scaffolds can be programmed in space and time to arrange biological components as an in vitro biochemically communicating system. Flexible in situ on-demand construction of a biocompatible scaffold within microfluidics holds promise for the assembly of biological components and systems for in vitro analysis and investigation. We foresee a wide spectrum applications ranging from replication of metabolic pathways as testbeds for drug discovery to identification of cell signaling mechanisms and observation of cellular response.