Characterizing the swelling of gelatin methacrylamide and effects on microscale tissue scaffold fabrication

Organ-on-chip systems harness microscale tissue fabrication techniques to reproduce models of human tissue. These models rely on the development of synthetic and biological scaffolds to support 3D cell culture. Herein, we present a microfluidic platform that uses laminar flow generated in a Y-channel to fabricate a gelatin methacrylamide (GELMA) scaffold. As a pilot study, we characterize the effect of photopolymerization in the microchannel and resultant swelling of the GELMA. The ultimate dimensions of the GELMA structure are minimally affected by flow conditions, and we hypothesize that the flow-rate independence is a result of inherent swelling properties of the GELMA scaffold. The ability to tune the physiochemical properties of the GELMA scaffold during microfabrication will enable future generation of finely tuned microscale tissue constructs.