Responsive graphene oxide hydrogel microcarriers for controllable cell capture and release

Abstract

Cell microcarriers have emerged as a powerful cell culture platform in biomedical areas, but their functions are usually limited to simply capturing and proliferating cells, because of the simplicity of their components. Thus, in this study, we developed a new near-infrared (NIR) light-responsive graphene oxide (GO) hydrogel microcarrier system for controllable cell culture. The microcarriers were generated by using capillary microfluidics to emulsify the GO dispersed poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM) and gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) pre-gel solution. The composite GO hydrogel microcarriers exhibited photothermally responsive cell capture, as well as the capacity for proliferation and release due to the NIR absorption of GO, the thermally responsive shape transition of pNIPAM, and the high biocompatibility of GelMA. It was found that the NIR-responsive GO hydrogel microcarriers could prevent the cultured cells from being attacked by the immune system and promote the formation of tumor models in immunocompetent mice, which is desired for tumor and drug research. These features make the NIR-responsive GO hydrogel microcarriers excellent functional materials for different biomedical applications.