In Vitro Growth of Human Keratinocytes and Oral Cancer Cells into Microtissues: An Aerosol-Based Microencapsulation Technique

• Main Authors: Wai, Yean Leong (Author), Chin, Fhong Soon (Author), Soon, Chuan Wong (Author), Kian, Sek Tee (Author), Sok, Ching Cheong (Author), Siew, Hua Gan (Author), Youseffi, Mansour (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI, 2017.
• Subjects: R5-130.5 General works
• Online Access: Get fulltext

 Cells encapsulation is a micro-technology widely applied in cell and tissue research, tissue transplantation, and regenerative medicine. In this paper, we proposed a growth of microtissue model for the human keratinocytes (HaCaT) cell line and an oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cell line (ORL-48) based on a simple aerosol microencapsulation technique. At an extrusion rate of 20 �L/min and air flow rate of 0.3 L/min programmed in the aerosol system, HaCaT and ORL-48 cells in alginate microcapsules were encapsulated in microcapsules with a diameter ranging from 200 to 300 �m. Both cell lines were successfully grown into microtissues in the microcapsules of alginate within 16 days of culture. The microtissues were characterized by using a live/dead cell viability assay, field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), fluorescence staining, and cell re-plating experiments. The microtissues of both cell types were viable after being extracted from the alginate membrane using alginate lyase. However, the microtissues of HaCaT and ORL-48 demonstrated differences in both nucleus size and morphology. The microtissues with re-associated cells in spheroids are potentially useful as a cell model for pharmacological studies.