Monodisperse collagen-gelatin beads as potential platforms for 3D cell culturing.

A droplet-based microfluidics technique is used to produce monodisperse, 80 μm collagen-gelatin beads with tunable mechanical properties in the range of 1-10 kPa after photo-crosslinking. The gel beads are porous, mechanically robust and stable in buffer, but can be degraded enzymatically. Encapsulated fibroblast cells maintain 70% viability after one-week encapsulation and preliminary results show that the degree of spreading of cells in gels is correlated with the stiffness of the material.