Physics Commons^™

Magneto-Driven Gradients Of Diamagnetic Objects For Engineering Complex Tissues, Hannah M. Zlotnick, Andy T. Clark, Sarah E. Gullbrand, James L. Carey, Xuemei Cheng, Robert L. Mauck

Physics Faculty Research and Scholarship

Engineering complex tissues represents an extraordinary challenge and, to date, there have been few strategies developed that can easily recapitulate native‐like cell and biofactor gradients in 3D materials. This is true despite the fact that mimicry of these gradients may be essential for the functionality of engineered graft tissues. Here, a non‐traditional magnetics‐based approach is developed to predictably position naturally diamagnetic objects in 3D hydrogels. Rather than magnetizing the objects within the hydrogel, the magnetic susceptibility of the surrounding hydrogel precursor solution is enhanced. In this way, a range of diamagnetic objects (e.g., polystyrene beads, drug delivery microcapsules, and living …