A microfluidic manifold with a single pump system to generate highly mono-disperse alginate beads for cell encapsulation.

Cell encapsulation technology is a promising strategy applicable to tissue engineering and cell therapy. Many advanced microencapsulation chips that function via multiple syringe pumps have been developed to generate mono-disperse hydrogel beads encapsulating cells. However, their operation is difficult and only trained microfluidic engineers can use them with dexterity. Hence, we propose a microfluidic manifold system, driven by a single syringe pump, which can enable the setup of automated flow sequences and generate highly mono-disperse alginate beads by minimizing disturbances to the pump pressure. The encapsulation of P19 mouse embryonic carcinoma cells and embryonic body formation are demonstrated to prove the efficiency of the proposed system.