The present disclosure provides compositions and methods for producing hydrogel matrix constructs. Methods of using hydrogel matrix constructs for tissue repair and regeneration and for the oxygenation of red blood cells are also disclosed.

Provided is a membrane for cell culture and differentiation. The membrane comprises a base portion and an array of protrusions consisting of a plurality of protrusions. The protrusions are substantially evenly distributed on the base portion. The plurality of protrusions has dimensions on the order of micrometers. In particular, the membrane consists of particles of different particle sizes of two or more types. One type of particles has an average particle size of 1 μm to 50 μm. Two or more types of particles of different particle sizes include nanoscale particles, 10-900 nm. One type of particle is selected from the group consisting of inorganic compound microspheres. The other type of particles of the two or more types of particles of different particle sizes is selected from the group consisting of organic polymer nanospheres. Also provided is a method for maintaining, culturing and/or differentiating cells using such membrane.

The present invention discloses an extracellular matrix comprising a modified polysaccharide consisting of repeating disaccharide units whereby in at least 11% of the disaccharide units one primary alcohol group is oxidized into a carboxylic acid.

The present invention relates to a cell culture support comprising a substrate and a polymeric blend layer bound to the substrate. The polymeric blend layer comprises at least one thermoresponsive polymer and at least one coupling agent. The coupling agent is a non-protein coupling agent that has functional thiol, ester, epoxy, or aldehyde groups. The cell culture support further includes cells supported by the polymeric blend layer, wherein the thermoresponsive polymer provides for temperature induced detachment of the cells and/or cell sheets.

A method of culturing adherent cells in suspension is provided that includes culturing adherent cells on a first substrate in a first suspension, harvesting the adherent cells from the first substrate, and transfecting the harvested adherent cells using electro-poration. The method also includes, after the step of transfecting, suspending the transfected adherent cells in a second suspension. A dissolution process for dissolving the second microcarrier particle to harvest the cells or cell products is also provided. This dissolution process includes adding a chelator, such as EDTA, to the second suspension for a predetermined time to separate the cells from the second microcarrier; and isolating the cells or cell products from a remainder of the second suspension after the predetermined time. The dissolution process is performed without enzymes such as pectinase or protease.

Embodiments of the present specification provide systems and methods for holding one or more tissues, such as veins, such that the tissue remains open in a chamber while undergoing orbital shaking with various solutions and to allow uniform treatment during a decellularization process. A frame is held on a stand to which the tissues are attached and comprises a tension inducing mechanism to cause the tissues to controllably stretch. The frame is removed from the stand, with the tissue attached to it, and placed in a decellularization chamber for uniform treatment of the tissue.

Biocompatible polymer hydrogel composite structures, methods of making the composite structures, and methods of using the composite structures as scaffolds for biological tissue growth and regeneration are provided. The methods for making the composite structures start with a porous high resolution three-dimensional hydrogel scaffold in which polymer precursors are infused and then polymerized in situ to form a water-soluble, electrically conducting polymer that is bonded to and/or entrapped within the hydrogel.

Conjugated, electrically conducting polymers (CPs) with the ability to covalently graft onto collagen and collagenic materials are provided. Also provided are methods of functionalizing biological tissues and other biological substrates with the CPs, and methods of using the functionalized biological substrates as cell and tissue growth scaffolds that harness the passive therapeutic benefits of CPs and use the enhanced conductivity provided by the scaffolds to stimulate cell growth and proliferation through the bulk of the biological substrate.

A method of making a cell culture article is provided. The method includes forming a microcarrier from a microcarrier composition comprising a polygalacturonic acid compound or an alginic acid compound, infiltrating the microcarrier with a drying formulation to form an infiltrated microcarrier, and drying the infiltrated microcarrier to form a dried microcarrier, wherein the drying formulation comprises at least one of a saccharide and a monovalent cation.

An object of the present invention is to provide a technique for precisely arranging nerve cells on a substrate while suppressing the migration of nerve cells.

A manufacturing method for a substrate on which nerve cells are arranged is provided, the method including a step of arranging, on a substrate, a plurality of liquid droplets containing nerve cells by an inkjet method to form one or a plurality of liquid pools, the substrate having a region in which a cell adhesive material is arranged and a region in which a cell non-adhesive material is arranged; and a step of incubating the liquid pool until the nerve cells sediment and temporarily adhere onto the substrate to form a cell aggregate. The diameter per one liquid pool is 500 μm or less, and the density of nerve cells per one liquid pool is 10.sup.5 cells/cm.sup.2 or more.