Encapsulating cells in microgels

Keeping stem cells alive after being injected into a body has been a problem because the immune system sees these as intruders.  To deal with that, bioengineers at the University of British Columbia-Okanagan encapsulated the cells in a microgel.   “The encapsulation technique involves the combination of several techniques all onto one chip that can automate the process. The chip combines droplet generation, irradiation of droplets with a 405mm wavelength laser to induce photocrosslinking and the separation of droplets from the oil phase for use in the injection This chip achieves an 85% cell survival rate for the encapsulated cells, which remain viable at the same percentage for 5 days.    MORE

Image Credit:  Biotechniques.com