Figure 2

Directed assembly of microgels using a modular approach. Schematic representation of a high-throughput photolithographic method (A). Design image of microgel arrays assembled into tubular structures embedded with 3D branching lumens and actual phase image of the microgel assembly after secondary crosslinking (B). Phase image of microgels following a sequential and directed assembly process (C). Scale bar: 500 μm. (Adaptation from Du et al., Sequential assembly of cell-laden hydrogel constructs to engineer vascular-like microchannels, Biotechnol Bioeng, 2011, Copyright Wiley-VCH Verlag GmBH&Co. KGaA. Reproduced with permission.)