Fabrication of Biomaterials and Biostructures Based On Microfluidic Manipulation

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Germany), 2022-04, Vol.18 (16), p.e2105867-n/a
• Main Authors: Zheng, Wenchen, Xie, Ruoxiao, Liang, Xiaoping, Liang, Qionglin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biocompatible Materials; biofabrication; biomaterials; Biomedical materials; Biomimetics; biostructures; gradient generators; microenvironments; Microfluidics; Microfluidics - methods; Nanotechnology; Tissue engineering; Tissue Engineering - methods
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.202105867

Biofabrication technologies are of importance for the construction of organ models and functional tissue replacements. Microfluidic manipulation, a promising biofabrication technique with micro‐scale resolution, can not only help to realize the fabrication of specific microsized structures but also build biomimetic microenvironments for biofabricated tissues. Therefore, microfluidic manipulation has attracted attention from researchers in the manipulation of particles and cells, biochemical analysis, tissue engineering, disease diagnostics, and drug discovery. Herein, biofabrication based on microfluidic manipulation technology is reviewed. The application of microfluidic manipulation technology in the manufacturing of biomaterials and biostructures with different dimensions and the control of the microenvironment is summarized. Finally, current challenges are discussed and a prospect of microfluidic manipulation technology is given. The authors hope this review can provide an overview of microfluidic manipulation technologies used in biofabrication and thus steer the current efforts in this field. The perspective of fluid manipulation principles is used to understand the biofabrication techniques. The key fluid properties associated with the biofabrication are introduced first, followed by a detailed introduction of the microfluidic manipulation methods used in the biofabrication process of biological materials in different dimensions. Finally, the microfluidic manipulation techniques used in the controlling of the biological microenvironment are introduced.