Microfluidic-Based Droplets for Advanced Regenerative Medicine: Current Challenges and Future Trends
Hojjatollah Nazari,
Asieh Heirani-Tabasi,
Sadegh Ghorbani,
Hossein Eyni,
Sajad Razavi Bazaz,
Maryam Khayati,
Fatemeh Gheidari,
Keyvan Moradpour,
Mousa Kehtari,
Seyed Mohsen Ahmadi Tafti,
Seyed Hossein Ahmadi Tafti,
Majid Ebrahimi Warkiani
Affiliations
Hojjatollah Nazari
School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
Asieh Heirani-Tabasi
Research Center for Advanced Technologies in Cardiovascular Medicine, Tehran Heart Center Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 14535, Iran
Sadegh Ghorbani
Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
Hossein Eyni
Cellular and Molecular Research Center, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 14535, Iran
Sajad Razavi Bazaz
School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
Maryam Khayati
Department of Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan 45371, Iran
Fatemeh Gheidari
Department of Biotechnology, University of Tehran, Tehran 14535, Iran
Keyvan Moradpour
Department of Chemical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran 14535, Iran
Mousa Kehtari
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran 14535, Iran
Seyed Mohsen Ahmadi Tafti
Colorectal Surgery Research Center, Imam Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 14535, Iran
Seyed Hossein Ahmadi Tafti
Research Center for Advanced Technologies in Cardiovascular Medicine, Tehran Heart Center Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 14535, Iran
Majid Ebrahimi Warkiani
School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
Microfluidics is a promising approach for the facile and large-scale fabrication of monodispersed droplets for various applications in biomedicine. This technology has demonstrated great potential to address the limitations of regenerative medicine. Microfluidics provides safe, accurate, reliable, and cost-effective methods for encapsulating different stem cells, gametes, biomaterials, biomolecules, reagents, genes, and nanoparticles inside picoliter-sized droplets or droplet-derived microgels for different applications. Moreover, microenvironments made using such droplets can mimic niches of stem cells for cell therapy purposes, simulate native extracellular matrix (ECM) for tissue engineering applications, and remove challenges in cell encapsulation and three-dimensional (3D) culture methods. The fabrication of droplets using microfluidics also provides controllable microenvironments for manipulating gametes, fertilization, and embryo cultures for reproductive medicine. This review focuses on the relevant studies, and the latest progress in applying droplets in stem cell therapy, tissue engineering, reproductive biology, and gene therapy are separately evaluated. In the end, we discuss the challenges ahead in the field of microfluidics-based droplets for advanced regenerative medicine.
