Unveiling the Potential of Single-Cell Encapsulation in Biomedical Applications: Current Advances and Future Perspectives

resumo

The encapsulation of single cells has emerged as a promising field in recent years, owing to its potential applications in cell-based therapeutics, bioprinting, in vitro cell culture, high-throughput screening, and diagnostics. Single-cell units offer several advantages, including compatibility with standard imaging techniques, superior diffusion rates, and lower material-to-cell volume ratios. They also serve as effective carriers for targeted drug delivery, allowing precise administration of therapeutics in cell-mediated quantities. Moreover, single-cell units exhibit improved circulation potential throughout the vasculature, with a reduced likelihood of entrapment compared to multicell strategies. However, the production of single-cell units from random dispersion of cells follows the Poisson distribution, requiring the separation of empty and multicell units from single-cell ones. Various methods have been developed to address this challenge; nevertheless, the majority of these strategies are either expensive or time-consuming. This review provides an in-depth analysis of the advantages and limitations of single-cell units and their applications, as well as a comprehensive overview of the most used techniques for single-cell encapsulation and sorting strategies. Single-cell encapsulation approaches such as droplets, microgels and shells, offer precise control over thecell microenvironment. While droplets excel in short-term analyses, hydrogel and nanoencapsulation strategies offer versatility, particularly in tissue engineering. This review presents a comprehensive investigation of techniques, advantages, and applications while also delving into essential sorting strategies aligned with the Poisson distribution.image (c) 2024 WILEY-VCH GmbH

palavras-chave

STEM-CELLS; DROPLET MICROFLUIDICS; ALGINATE MICROGELS; 3D CULTURE; SIZE; HETEROGENEITY; STRATEGIES; PLATFORM; CAPTURE; ARRAY

categoria

Science & Technology - Other Topics; Materials Science

autores

Pires-Santos, M; Nadine, S; Mano, JF

Grupos

G5 - Materiais Biomiméticos, Biológicos e Vivos

Projectos

Bioinspired tile-matching to create ultrastructured bone microtissues in a close-to-native fashion (TETRISSUE)

Unlocking the scientific excellence and innovation capacity of the University of Aveiro in supramolecular multicomponent biomaterials for enabling advanced biomaterials for healthcare (SUPRALIFE)

CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDB/50011/2020)

CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDP/50011/2020)

Associated Laboratory CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials (LA/P/0006/2020)

agradecimentos

This work was financed by the European Research Council Advanced Grant "REBORN" (grant agreement no. ERC-2019-ADG-883370) and by national funds (OE) through FCT-Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia, I.P., in the scope of the project "TETRISSUE" (PTDC/BTM-MAT/3201/2020) and "O2Cells" (2022.04237.PTDC). This work was funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation program under the grant agreement no. 101079482 ("SUPRALIFE"). This work was developed within the scope of the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, UIDB/50011/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDB/50011/2020), UIDP/50011/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDP/50011/2020) & LA/P/0006/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/LA/P/0006/2020), financed by national funds through the FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC).