Ricerc@Sapienza

Injection of cell-laden scaffolds in the form of mesoscopic particles directly to the site of treatment is one of the most promising approaches to tissue regeneration. Here, we present a novel and highly efficient method for preparation of porous microbeads of tailorable dimensions (in the range ~ 300-1500 mm) and with a uniform and fully interconnected internal porous texture. The method starts with generation of a monodisperse oil-in-water emulsion inside a flow-focusing microfluidic device.

In tissue engineering practice, a scaffold is often needed to deliver cells to the desired body site needing to be repaired. Scaffolds supporting cells can be either implanted through a surgical operation or injected through a laparoscopic device. The latter option is a first-choice in cases where a small and irregularly shaped defect needs to be regenerated. In such circumstances, the cell carrier has to be miniaturised while maintaining the morphological features that make a scaffold an efficient cell culture support, i.e.