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Embryo manipulation is a fundamental task in assisted reproductive technology (ART). Nevertheless, conventional pick-place techniques often require proper alignment to avoid causing damage to the embryo and further, the tools have limited capability to orient the embryo being handled., Objective: This paper presents a novel and non-invasive technique that can easily manipulate mouse embryos on a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) Petri dish., Methods: An inverted microchip with quadrupole electrodes was attached to a micromanipulator to become a robotic dielectrophoresis (DEP) tweezers, and a motorized platform provided additional mobility to the embryos lying on a Petri dish. Vision-based algorithms were developed to evaluate relevant information of the embryos from the image, and to provide feedback signals for precise position and orientation control of the embryo., Results: A series of experiments was conducted to examine the system performance, and the embryo can be successfully manipulated to a specified location with the desired orientation for subsequent processing., Conclusion: This system offers a non-contact, low cost, and flexible method for rapid cell handling., Significance: As the DEP tweezers can grasp the embryo without the need for precise alignment, the overall time required to process a large number of embryos can be shortened.

Patterning of cells into a specific pattern is an important procedure in tissue engineering to facilitate tissue culture and ingrowth. In this paper, a new type of 3D-printed scaffold utilizing dielectrophoresis (DEP) for active cell seeding and patterning was proposed. This scaffold adopted a concentric-ring design that is similar to native bone tissues. The scaffold was fabricated with a commercial three-dimensional (3D) printer. Polylactic Acid (PLA) was selected as the material for the printer and the fabricated scaffold was coated with gold to enhance the conductivity for DEP manipulation. Simulation from COMSOL confirmed that non-uniform electric fields were successfully generated under a voltage input. The properties of the scaffold were first characterized through a series of experiments. Then, preosteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells were seeded onto the coated scaffold and multiple cellular rings were observed under the microscope. The biocompatibility of the material was also examined and mineralized bone nodules were detected using Alizarin Red S Staining after 28 days of culture. The proposed scaffold design can enable formation of multiple ring patterns via DEP and the properties of the scaffold are suitable for bone tissue culture. This new type of 3D-printed scaffold with cell seeding mechanism offers a new and rapid approach for fabricating engineered scaffolds that can arrange cells into different patterns for various tissue engineering applications.

Background: Cytoskeleton is a highly dynamic network that helps to maintain the rigidity of a cell, and the mechanical properties of a cell are closely related to many cellular functions. This paper presents a new method to probe and characterize cell mechanical properties through dielectrophoresis (DEP)-based cell stretching manipulation and actin cytoskeleton modeling., Methods: Leukemia NB4 cells were used as cell line, and changes in their biological properties were examined after chemotherapy treatment with doxorubicin (DOX). DEP-integrated microfluidic chip was utilized as a low-cost and efficient tool to study the deformability of cells. DEP forces used in cell stretching were first evaluated through computer simulation, and the results were compared with modeling equations and with the results of optical stretching (OT) experiments. Structural parameters were then extracted by fitting the experimental data into the actin cytoskeleton model, and the underlying mechanical properties of the cells were subsequently characterized., Results: The DEP forces generated under different voltage inputs were calculated and the results from different approaches demonstrate good approximations to the force estimation. Both DEP and OT stretching experiments confirmed that DOX-treated NB4 cells were stiffer than the untreated cells. The structural parameters extracted from the model and the confocal images indicated significant change in actin network after DOX treatment., Conclusion: The proposed DEP method combined with actin cytoskeleton modeling is a simple engineering tool to characterize the mechanical properties of cells.

Objective: Seeding and patterning of cells with an engineered scaffold is a critical process in artificial tissue construction and regeneration. To date, many engineered scaffolds exhibit simple intrinsic designs, which fail to mimic the geometrical complexity of native tissues. In this study, a novel scaffold that can automatically seed cells into multilayer honeycomb patterns for bone tissue engineering application was designed and examined., Methods: The scaffold incorporated dielectrophoresis for noncontact manipulation of cells and intrinsic honeycomb architectures were integrated in each scaffold layer. When a voltage was supplied to the stacked scaffold layers, three-dimensional electric fields were generated, thereby manipulating cells to form into honeycomb-like cellular patterns for subsequent culture., Results: The biocompatibility of the scaffold material was confirmed through the cell viability test. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the cell viability during DEP patterning at different voltage amplitudes, frequencies, and manipulating time. Three different mammalian cells were examined and the effects of the cell size and the cell concentration on the resultant cellular patterns were evaluated., Conclusion: Results showed that the proposed scaffold structure was able to construct multilayer honeycomb cellular patterns in a manner similar to the natural tissue., Significance: This honeycomb-like scaffold and the dielectrophoresis-based patterning technique examined in this study could provide the field with a promising tool to enhance seeding and patterning of a wide range of cells for the development of high-quality artificial tissues.

A novel biodegradable and conductive composite consisting of magnesium (Mg), polypyrrole-block-ploycaprolactone (PPy-PCL), and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is synthesized in a core-shell-skeleton manner for tissue engineering applications. Mg particles in the composite are first coated with a conductive nanostructured PPy-PCL layer for corrosion resistance via the UV-induced photopolymerization method. PLGA matrix is then added to tailor the biodegradability of the resultant composite. Composites with different composition ratios are examined through experiments, and their material properties are characterized. The in vitro experiments on culture of 293FT-GFP cells show that the composites are suitable for cell growth and culture. Biodegradability of the composite is also evaluated. By adding PLGA matrix to the composite, the degrading time of the composite can last for more than eight weeks, hence providing a longer period for tissue formation as compared to Mg composites or alloys. The findings of this research will offer a new opportunity to utilize a conductive, nanostructured-coated Mg/PLGA composite as the scaffold material for implants and tissue regeneration., (© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)