Cargando…

Hydrogels for Single-Cell Microgel Production: Recent Advances and Applications

Single-cell techniques have become more and more incorporated in cell biological research over the past decades. Various approaches have been proposed to isolate, culture, sort, and analyze individual cells to understand cellular heterogeneity, which is at the foundation of every systematic cellular...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Tiemeijer, B. M., Tel, J.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9247248/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35782502
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2022.891461
_version_ 1784739114071883776
author Tiemeijer, B. M.
Tel, J.
author_facet Tiemeijer, B. M.
Tel, J.
author_sort Tiemeijer, B. M.
collection PubMed
description Single-cell techniques have become more and more incorporated in cell biological research over the past decades. Various approaches have been proposed to isolate, culture, sort, and analyze individual cells to understand cellular heterogeneity, which is at the foundation of every systematic cellular response in the human body. Microfluidics is undoubtedly the most suitable method of manipulating cells, due to its small scale, high degree of control, and gentle nature toward vulnerable cells. More specifically, the technique of microfluidic droplet production has proven to provide reproducible single-cell encapsulation with high throughput. Various in-droplet applications have been explored, ranging from immunoassays, cytotoxicity assays, and single-cell sequencing. All rely on the theoretically unlimited throughput that can be achieved and the monodispersity of each individual droplet. To make these platforms more suitable for adherent cells or to maintain spatial control after de-emulsification, hydrogels can be included during droplet production to obtain “microgels.” Over the past years, a multitude of research has focused on the possibilities these can provide. Also, as the technique matures, it is becoming clear that it will result in advantages over conventional droplet approaches. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview on how various types of hydrogels can be incorporated into different droplet-based approaches and provide novel and more robust analytic and screening applications. We will further focus on a wide range of recently published applications for microgels and how these can be applied in cell biological research at the single- to multicell scale.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-9247248
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2022
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-92472482022-07-02 Hydrogels for Single-Cell Microgel Production: Recent Advances and Applications Tiemeijer, B. M. Tel, J. Front Bioeng Biotechnol Bioengineering and Biotechnology Single-cell techniques have become more and more incorporated in cell biological research over the past decades. Various approaches have been proposed to isolate, culture, sort, and analyze individual cells to understand cellular heterogeneity, which is at the foundation of every systematic cellular response in the human body. Microfluidics is undoubtedly the most suitable method of manipulating cells, due to its small scale, high degree of control, and gentle nature toward vulnerable cells. More specifically, the technique of microfluidic droplet production has proven to provide reproducible single-cell encapsulation with high throughput. Various in-droplet applications have been explored, ranging from immunoassays, cytotoxicity assays, and single-cell sequencing. All rely on the theoretically unlimited throughput that can be achieved and the monodispersity of each individual droplet. To make these platforms more suitable for adherent cells or to maintain spatial control after de-emulsification, hydrogels can be included during droplet production to obtain “microgels.” Over the past years, a multitude of research has focused on the possibilities these can provide. Also, as the technique matures, it is becoming clear that it will result in advantages over conventional droplet approaches. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview on how various types of hydrogels can be incorporated into different droplet-based approaches and provide novel and more robust analytic and screening applications. We will further focus on a wide range of recently published applications for microgels and how these can be applied in cell biological research at the single- to multicell scale. Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-06-17 /pmc/articles/PMC9247248/ /pubmed/35782502 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2022.891461 Text en Copyright © 2022 Tiemeijer and Tel. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Bioengineering and Biotechnology
Tiemeijer, B. M.
Tel, J.
Hydrogels for Single-Cell Microgel Production: Recent Advances and Applications
title Hydrogels for Single-Cell Microgel Production: Recent Advances and Applications
title_full Hydrogels for Single-Cell Microgel Production: Recent Advances and Applications
title_fullStr Hydrogels for Single-Cell Microgel Production: Recent Advances and Applications
title_full_unstemmed Hydrogels for Single-Cell Microgel Production: Recent Advances and Applications
title_short Hydrogels for Single-Cell Microgel Production: Recent Advances and Applications
title_sort hydrogels for single-cell microgel production: recent advances and applications
topic Bioengineering and Biotechnology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9247248/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35782502
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2022.891461
work_keys_str_mv AT tiemeijerbm hydrogelsforsinglecellmicrogelproductionrecentadvancesandapplications
AT telj hydrogelsforsinglecellmicrogelproductionrecentadvancesandapplications