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Cell patterning via optimized dielectrophoretic force within hexagonal electrodes in vitro for skin tissue engineering

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Abstract

Tissue reconstruction through in vitro cell seeding is a popular method for tissue engineering. In this paper, we proposed a thin-layer structure consisting of multiple hexagons for the regeneration of skin tissue. Cells could be seeded and cultured within the structure via dielectrophoresis (DEP) actively. A thin layer of the structure was fabricated with biocompatible medical-grade stainless steel via precise laser cutting. The fabricated layers were stacked together to form a 3D electrode pair, which could be used to generate a 3D electric field. Thus, the suspended cells within the structure could be patterned via DEP manipulation. The input voltage was examined and optimized to ensure cell viability and patterning efficiency during the DEP manipulation process. As soon as we applied the optimized voltage, human foreskin fibroblast (HFF) cells could be attracted along the edge of the electrodes, forming hexagonal cellular patterns. After that, a single layer of the patterned cells was further cultured in an incubator for 7 days and observed under a microscope. The obtained images showed that the seeded cells could proliferate and fill in the hexagonal wells, which could be used for further skin tissue regeneration. As shown in the experimental results, this structure could be used for active cell seeding and proliferation for the development of skin tissue engineering.

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Funding

This work was supported in part by the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province (No. 2019J01869 and No. 2019J05124), the Education Research Project for Young and Middle-aged Teachers of Fujian Province (No. JT180425 and No. JT180426), the Scientific Research Foundation for High Level Talents of Xiamen University of Technology (No. YKJ17012R and No. YKJ17013R), and the Promotion Scientific Research Project Young Teachers (No. XPDKQ18018 and No. XPDKQ18017).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, XiaMen University of Technology, No. 600 Ligong Road, Jimei District, Xiamen, 361024, Fujian, China

    Zhijie Huan, Weicheng Ma & Min Xu

  2. Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Information Processing and Intelligent Control, MinJiang University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China

    Zhixiong Zhong

  3. College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China

    Xiangpeng Li

  4. Children’s Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China

    Zhenhong Zhu

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  1. Zhijie Huan
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  2. Weicheng Ma
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  3. Min Xu
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  4. Zhixiong Zhong
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  5. Xiangpeng Li
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  6. Zhenhong Zhu
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Correspondence to Zhijie Huan.

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Huan, Z., Ma, W., Xu, M. et al. Cell patterning via optimized dielectrophoretic force within hexagonal electrodes in vitro for skin tissue engineering. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 105, 4899–4907 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-019-04072-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-019-04072-8

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